Defensor-Malones fix MIWD-Maasin row
All’s well that ends well. Or at least, almost, in the longtime row between the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) and the Municipality of Maasin, Iloilo.
With millions in demanded payment from the MIWD management, top district officials moved in to find an acceptable resolution.
And it finally happened in a meeting with Third District Representative Arthur Defensor Sr. and Board Member Mariano Malones along with MIWD officials.
In a report, The News Today (TNT) gathered that an agreement was reached for some annual P1 million MIWD financial assistance to Maasin. Details on the actual releases will be fine-tuned this week with the final plan set to be presented before the Maasin Municipal Government.
The MIWD was represented by Engineer Edgar Calasara, officer-in-charge.
To recall, Maasin led other Iloilo towns in demanding town-share of the MIWD revenues.
In fact, the controversy led to the failure of the MIWD management to seek endorsement of the Iloilo Provincial Government on a World Bank (WB) grant of $150,000 (roughly P6 million). With nod sought from the Provincial Board, successive legislative study led to a committee finding denying the endorsement. While at it, MIWD was also told to pay up three Iloilo towns.
The WB Grant due to the MIWD was meant to assist the water district in its on-going rehabilitation and upgrading of pipeline network. Further still, it sought the SP support of the Grant as applied for aimed at refurbishment of the existing water sources supply to reduce the alarming level of systems loss or the Non Revenue Water (NRW) and augment its production capacity.
The committee was forthright then with its discussions on the merit of the request for endorsement. The ensuing committee exchanges found no merit on MIWD explanation that the request for endorsement is distinct from the unresolved issue of supposed MIWD unpaid obligations.
Mayors from the municipalities of Maasin, Oton and San Miguel were involved in the controversy with a demand for local government share of 1% of MIWD gross sales. Computation was to be based on said gross sales or receipts based on the preceding calendar year, accruing from 2005 up to the present .
Meantime, Iloilo City’s water supply from the MIWD is expected to return to normalcy later this week.
Albeit estimated to be on an 80% to 90% restoration, TNT learned that ongoing works are hastened particularly on transmission lines affected by Typhoon Frank in June last year.
The MIWD has since announced interruption on the delivery of water services saying its “long-term” development works are in place.