Manila Water Chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala and his brother, vice chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala took responsibility for the inconveniences felt by its East Zone customers due to the water shortage.

"A multitude of factors resulted in this lack of supply, and we take responsibility for our own shortcomings in the company. We recognize and understand the difficulties that all our customers are going through," the Ayala brothers said in a joint statement posted on Wednesday in Jaime's Facebook account.

They appealed for patience from their affected customers as Manila Water tries to implement long-term solutions to the water supply problem.

"We continue to appeal for everyone’s patience as our teams at Manila Water are working hard and overtime to immediately and comprehensively remedy the situation," they said.

"Please be assured that Manila Water is exploring all possible options to bring back services to the high levels that we are all accustomed to," they added.

They assured that there won't be any water service issues in the future.

"Again, we recognize our shortcomings in the situation. We will double our efforts to restore services to the high levels that we have had and to ensure that future shortages such as these will not be repeated. We are deeply grateful for your understanding," the statement read.

Their statement came after Manila Water president and chief executive officer Ferdinand dela Cruz on Tuesday announced a "voluntary one-time bill waiver" of the minimum charge in March for its customers. Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS