Public-private partnership in response to water crisis
Crisis is the by-word these days. There is the global crisis, the power crisis, and now, the water crisis in Iloilo City and its neighboring towns as the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) continues its repair and restoration work.
The Special Sub-Committee on Water of the Regional Development Council’s Infrastructure Development Committee met on February 6, 2009 at the NEDA-VI Building, Iloilo City to discuss the status of major watersheds and options to resolve the water problem in Iloilo and the Metro Iloilo areas. Local officials from the towns of Pavia, Sta. Barbara, Leganes, Oton, and San Miguel sat together with the members of the sub-committee to air their issues/concerns especially in relation to the MIWD.
Engr. Ed Manaay, former consultant of PNOC, talked about the Hydrogeological State of Maasin, Tigum and Aganan Rivers and gave a brief orientation on the water cycle. He presented a number of recommendations to resolve current problems being experienced in the city and its environs. Mr. Tom Villaroman, Deputy Administrator for the Technical Regulation of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System shared various options for public-private partnerships, including concession arrangements that can ensure better operations, maintenance and management of water supply and resources.
NEDA-VI Director Ro-Ann Bacal said that the problem of water in the district needs a paradigm shift and improvements in its operational and institutional set-up because MIWD is perceived to be highly centralized. She expressed the need for a more meaningful role of municipalities possibly in the distribution of water supply and even seats in the MIWD Board.
Mayor Arcadio Gorriceta of Pavia informed the group that Pilipinas Water and the Mactan Rock are proposing to put up a river water extraction with bulk water treatment project in their municipality. Public-private partnership in accordance with Presidential Decree 198, the Water District Charter, is seen as the best option to address the problem on water.