MIWD privatization plan needs careful study, says councilor
Sangguniang Panlungsod has temporarily deferred action on the request of Mayor Jerry Treñas to pass a resolution in support of the privatization of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD).
City Councilor Perla Zulueta said they want to be enlightened of the proposed privatization first before they would even attempt to pass a resolution supporting such a plan.
She clarified that they are not against the plan to privatize MIWD, only that they wanted to know the nitty-gritty of the privatization plan so that when the public ask them they would know how to answer.
"The very first question that would crop up if we talk about privatizing MIWD is: will this provide a solution to the water crisis that the city of Iloilo is experiencing right now? What does privatizing MIWD bring about? Honestly, if you ask me these now, I cannot answer them because this matter is practically uncharted territory for most of us members of the city council," said Zulueta in an interview over dyFM Bombo Radyo yesterday morning.
She added the matter was not referred to a particular standing committee because there are plans to form an ad hoc body that would gather more information regarding the proposal and study its feasibility in relation to the MIWD.
In previous months, the city suffered from water shortage after portions of the water dam at the Maasin watershed dried up. The Maasin watershed is the primary source of water of MIWD.
In the request of Treñas he cited that "MIWD under its limited resources and bureaucracy of government, may not be able to cope up and sufficiently cater the needs of a highly-urbanized city such as Iloilo City."
Meanwhile, an MIWD employee interviewed by the The News Today said that they are not alarmed by the privatization proposal.
The employee who asked for anonymity said there is nothing wrong with privatization as long as their security of tenure is respected.
The same source, however, said that the privatization issue has yet to be taken up by the water district's board of directors.
MIWD interim manager Edwin Reyes was not available for comment when reached by The News Today.
Recently, the MIWD incurred loans of P207 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its massive rehabilitation program. The rehabilitation program includes the replacement of new water pipe lines and additional drilling of deep wells.
Zulueta stressed that if a private company is tapped to take over the MIWD, it must be financially-solid to be able to finance the improvements needed to provide solution to the problems besetting the water district.