The Supreme Court has blocked the sale of the real properties of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System

The Supreme Court has permanently blocked the sale of the real properties and facilities of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to private owners to pay off its tax arrears. The Supreme Court disagreed with a lower court, which had held that MWSS’s real property was not public because of a concession and could therefore be auctioned off. “All the real estate tax assessments, including the final notices of real estate tax delinquencies, issued by the local government of Quezon City on the real properties of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System located in Quezon City are declared void, except for the portions that are alleged and proven to have been leased to private properties,” the Supreme Court said.