SP urges Baciwa to stop water rate hike
BACOLOD CITY -- The Sangguniang Panglungsod (SP) has joined the fray in opposing the plan of Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) to increase its rates this year.
In a resolution it passed unanimously, the city council urged the Management and Board of Directors of Baciwa to refrain from increasing its rates for 2009 and also to look for other creative ways to render unnecessary or lower any rate increases such as reduction of unaccounted or unbilled water, implementation of water conservation and water recycling and to exempt from any rate increase households utilizing less than ten (10) cubic meters in order to encourage water conservation.
City Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, chair of the Committee on Communication and Energy and also the main proponent of the resolution, said that the consumers today are suffering from seemingly incessant increases in prices of fuel and other petroleum products, electricity and basic commodities which continuously cause extreme financial burden compounded by the global economic crisis which happened this year.
Baciwa proposes to increase its rates from 2009 to 2010 in order to undertake expansion projects, especially for laying pipelines and connections to provide water to about 45 communities in Bacolod City which have long requested for water connection.
Baciwa reported that it is constrained from undertaking major projects due to the fact that it is extremely burdened with a loan amortization of P5.8 million per month due to high interest.
Earlier, Baciwa General Manager Atty. Juliana Carbon justified that there is a need for water rate hike to absorb the increase in costs for the past three years and it needs additional revenue to cope with the increasing costs. They also agreed to change or rehabilitate unserviceable dilapidated transmission and distribution lines and wells to improve supply and pressure in some areas.
Carbon further said that the electric power rates went up and employees' salaries and benefits increased by about 48.16 % from 2005 to 2008 due to government mandated increases.
The District's Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) amortization also increased by 55.84%.
Baciwa proposed to tap surface water as a resource to avoid over-extraction of ground water resources. It is now in the process of applying water permits on three rivers as potential source.