MIWD to sue Iloilo City mayor, councilors if Prime Water gets franchise

The Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) will take legal action should the Iloilo City Government grant a franchise to Prime Water Infrastructure Corp.

Lawyer Roy Villa, MIWD corporate legal counsel, on Friday, Nov. 16, said the city government has no authority to grant a franchise to any firm interested to distribute water in the metropolis.

He insisted that only the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) can issue a water permit.

Villa said the move to file charges against Mayor Jose Espinosa III and members of the City Council was agreed by the MIWD directors.

MIWD also wondered why there was a draft ordinance attached to Prime Water’s application forwarded by Espinosa’s office to the City Council.

The ordinance seeks to grant a franchise to the bulk water supplier owned by the Villar Group.

“Klaro nga may special interest si Mayor Espinosa kag iban nga councilors,” Villa said.

Espinosa and six current members of the City Council are seeking elective posts in the 2019 elections under the Nacionalista Party, the political party of Sen. Cynthia Villar.

On Wednesday, Nov. 14, Councilor Plaridel Nava, committee on public utilities chair, conducted a public hearing on Prime Water’s franchise application.

In an interview over radio station Bombo Radyo-Iloilo, Nava said Prime Water, based on its application, wants to be the city’s sole water distributor for 25 years.

Aside from the exclusivity, Nava was also unhappy with Prime Water’s proposed water rates.

“Mas mahal ang ila rates compared sa MIWD,” he said.

Presently, the city has two water distributors – MIWD and South Balibago Resources, Inc. (SBRI).

In 2016, the City Council approved an ordinance granting a franchise to SBRI.

SBRI is currently serving about 10,000 households and commercial establishments in Jaro district.

MIWD questioned the legality of SBRI’s franchise.The case is now pending in court.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Austere Panadero, in a statement sent to Councilor R Leone Gerochi in March this year, said local governments do not have the power to issue a water franchise.

He cited Section 4 of PD 1076, which states that the application for water permit “shall be filed directly with NWRB or deputized agents designated by the Board…”

“Clearly, granting of water permits is within the competence of the NWRB, not in the local government units,” Panadero said.

SOURCE: Iloilo Metropolitan Times

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