REPUBLIC ACT 8041 – “National Water Crisis Act”

SEC. 8. Anti-Pilferage. – It is hereby declared unlawful for any person to:

(a) Destroy, damage or interfere with any canal, raceway, ditch, lock, pier, inlet, crib, bulkhead, dam, gate, service, reservoir, aqueduct, water mains, water distribution pipes, conduit, pipes, wire benchmark, monument, or other works, appliance, machinery, buildings, or property of any water utility entity, whether public or private;

(b) Do any malicious act which shall injuriously affect the quantity or quality of the water or sewage flow of any waterworks and/or sewerage system, or the supply, conveyance, measurement,
or regulation thereof, including the prevention of, or interference with any authorized person engaged in the discharge of duties connected therewith;

(c) Prevent, obstruct, and interfere with the survey, works, and construction of access road and water mains and distribution network and any related works of the utility entity;

(d) Tap, make, or cause to be made any connection with water lines without prior authority or consent from the water utility concerned;

(e) Tamper, install or use tampered water meters, sticks, magnets, reversing water meters, shortening of vane wheels and other devices to steal water or interfere with accurate registry or
metering of water usage, or otherwise result in its diversion in a manner whereby water is stolen or wasted;

(f) Use or receive the direct benefit of water service with knowledge that diversion, tampering, or illegal connection existed at the time of that use, or that the use or receipt was otherwise
without the authorization of the water utility;
(g) Steal or pilfer water meters, main lines, pipes and related or ancillary facilities;
(h) Steal water for profit or resale;
(i) Knowingly possess stolen or tampered water meters; and
(j) Knowingly or willfully allow the occurrence of any of the above.

SEC. 9. Prima Facie Evidence. – The presence of any of the following circumstances shall constitute prima facie evidence of theft, pilferage, or of any unlawful acts enumerated in Section 8 hereof:

(a) The existence of illegal or unauthorized tapping to the water main or distribution pipe;
(b) The existence of any illegal connection such as a reversed meter, shortened vane wheel, bypass or other connections which adversely affect the registration of the water meter;
(c) The presence of a bored hole in the glass cover of the water meter, or at the back of or any part of the meter including the vertical vane;
(d) The presence of tampered, or fake seals on the meters. Inspection of tampered water meters shall be done in the presence of the registered water consumer;
(e) The presence of a reversed meter in the premises, insertion of rod, wire, or stick in the meter, filed or shortened vane wheel, removal or altering of any part of the meter mechanism, use of magnet and any similar illegal devices which interfere with the meter registration;
(f) Destruction of the meter protection and other metering accessories; or
(g) Abnormal imprints, traces or marks found in the meter assembly.