“I am appealing to MCWD to protect the consumers. Their water supply should not be affected, and their rates should not increase.”
This was the plea made by Governor Gwen Garcia in a meeting this afternoon with Metropolitan Cebu Water District’s general manager, Edgar Donoso, and its chairman, Atty. Joey Daluz, after Cebu Manila Water Development Inc. (CMWDI) terminated its contract with MCWD, which took effect on December 1 of this year.
The governor’s plea was made in the presence of Cebu City Acting Mayor Atty. Raymund Garcia, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, Compostela Mayor Felijur Quiño, Liloan Mayor Aljew Frasco, and Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado.
CMWDI is a joint venture firm between the Cebu Provincial Government and the Enrique Razon-led Manila Water Consortium. This joint venture was responsible for collecting and treating surface water from Carmen town's Luyang River in Northern Cebu.
Subsequently, it supplied 35 million liters of water daily to MCWD at a fixed selling price of P24.59 per cubic meter. This price was finalized during the year when Gov. Gwen was not in office at the Capitol.
The deal is considered grossly disadvantageous to the province because it lacks an escalation clause to account for the usual inflation rate, which is a necessary consideration in any business.
At least six LGUs within the district’s coverage area—Compostela, Liloan, Consolacion, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Cebu City—stand to be affected by the contract termination.
However, Governor Gwen assures the residents of these areas that water supply will continue through the Capitol’s initiative of purchasing water from CMWDI and selling it to MCWD at the same price, without seeking any profit, in order to maintain the status quo and avoid water shortages.
The Capitol has also given MCWD a 60-day deadline for the bidding and procurement process to secure a new water supplier, starting from February 1.
MCWD also assures the Capitol that residents from three municipalities in the province and the tri-cities will not be affected by the termination. The water supply will continue, and prices will not increase.
Governor Gwen doesn’t want to burden Cebuanos amidst the country's experienced inflation. | Jude Torres