Treñas eyes MIWD privatization within the year
City Mayor Jerry Treñas hopes that the city's sole water utility Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) would be privatized within this year.
Treñas said he has already talked to a top official of the Government Office for Corporate Council (GOCC) over his plan to privatize the water district. He is positive that sooner the privatization will take place because of the assurance he got from the GOCC.
Treñas said they have also identified a model scheme for the privatization which will not displace the employees of the water district. He did not name the specific model but he said it is already being used by the government in its privatization efforts.
The privatization of the MIWD is one of the mayor's priority project in his last term as city mayor. Treñas expressed concerns over the two basic utilities -- the water and electricity. The insufficient water and power supply will drive away prospective investors in the city, he said.
With regard to the city's power supply, brownouts still occur in the different parts of the city in spite of the reported interconnection between Panay Electric Company and National Power Corporation (NPC).
To add more weight on the MIWD privatization, the chief executive sought the help of the Sangguniang Panlungsod by approving a resolution favorably endorsing his plan to privatize the water district.
However, the city council did not immediately heed the mayor's request, it instead created an ad hoc committee which will study the proposal.