Residents of Smile Citihomes Condominium in Barangay Kaligayahan, Quezon City were alarmed by a Maynilad Water Services Inc. disconnection notice over nearly P1.3 million in unpaid bills.
Hundreds of angry residents stormed the condominium’s administration building on Saturday night, demanding an explanation from the board of directors of the medium-rise condominium on why their water service would be disconnected despite being up to date on payment of monthly dues.
They also called for the immediate resignation of the board members.
Barangay Kaligayahan Captain Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Roxas, accompanied by police officers, went to the condominium to ensure peace and order and appealed to residents to remain calm.
‘Earlier, I was urging them (the board members) to come out because that’s why you’re all here – your questions have not been answered,’ Roxas said in Filipino, adding, ‘Unfortunately, they refused to come down.’
As a condominium, Smile Citihomes has a single water service connection with Maynilad. The water utility supplies water to the condominium through a main connection, while the condominium administration manages the distribution of water to individual units and collects water payments from residents.
In a June 22 disconnection notice, Maynilad said the unpaid bills covered the following: P143,466.25 for April, P577,415.30 for May, and P577,415.30 also for June, totaling P1,298,296.85.
Maynilad advised payment on or before June 25, warning that failure to settle the amount could result in the temporary disconnection of the water service. A last-minute hold order temporarily stopped the disconnection.
The condominium’s board in an advisory said the issue stemmed from Maynilad’s unilateral reclassification of the condominium’s water rate from residential to semi-business beginning March 4, 2026.
According to the board, Maynilad made the reclassification due to alleged commercial activities within the premises. The board said the change caused a sharp increase in the condominium’s water bills from March to June.
Smile Citihomes is a residential condominium complex with 1,824 occupied units. It also has a two-story commercial building, with the administration office and a multipurpose hall on the second floor.
The ground floor is occupied by fewer than 10 small businesses, including mini-grocery stores, a water refilling station and eateries. The board said Maynilad cited these establishments as the basis for reclassifying the entire condominium’s water service from residential to semi-business.
In its advisory to unit owners and residents dated June 26, the board said Maynilad charged the condominium P576,582.23 for March, P577,065.96 for April, P577,415.30 for May and P577,415.30 for June under the new semi-business rate.
The board said it made partial payments to ensure the continued supply of water while contesting what it described as an unreasonable increase in billing. These payments were listed as P331,983.25 for March, P342,835.85 for April, P335,362.11 for May and P342,000 for June.
According to the board, the disputed amount arising from the semi-business classification had reached P956,296.85.
‘We are taking all legal steps against this unreasonable increase in rate,’ the board said in Filipino.
The board said it had already brought the matter before the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Regulatory Office, formally questioning the disputed billing and seeking the restoration of Smile Citihomes’ residential classification.