MIWD conflict should be brought to court, Drilon says
Senator Franklin Drilon said yesterday the conflict between the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) management and its previous board should be settled in court.
Drilon was in Iloilo City to speak at the First Annual Western Visayas Business Forum organized by the University of Iloilo-PHINMA yesterday at Hotel del Rio.
He said the MIWD needs to answer a lot of questions especially its inadequate water service.
“Because of their conflict and bickering, the public is suffering most,” he said.
The Ilonggo senator said he will soon call for a meeting between the officials of LWUA, the MIWD management and its board.
“We don’t need an official inquiry in the Senate. All we have to do is call both parties so we could trace the source of their conflict,” he said.
‘No Takeover’
Meanwhile, MIWD general manager Le Jayme Jalbuena said the LWUA did not take over the operations of MIWD when it appointed an interim board, rather such action was a filling of vacancies, said MIWD general manager Le Jayme Jalbuena.
“It was not a LWUA take-over but only a filling of vacancies while waiting for the appointment of the new directors by the rightful appointing authority,” he said in a press statement.
On October 29, the LWUA sent a letter to the previous board composed of Celso Javelosa, Engr. Adrian Moncada, Dr. Danilo Encarnacion, Bernadette Castellano and Sergio Gonzalez declaring their appointments void “ab initio.”
To fill the vacuum, LWUA named members of an interim board, including Dr. Jessica Salas and Atty. Romeo Gerochi from Iloilo and Emmanuel Malicdem, Hermilo Balucan and Enrique Gita from LWUA.
The three LWUA officials, however, were not present during the press conference on Tuesday.
No Police Assistance
The MIWD management, in the press statement, denied reports it sought police assistance when the interim board assumed office on Monday.
It added that “it did not request for any police help especially during the press conference (Tuesday) at the MIWD office where the interim members appeared in public for the first time.”
It said though that policemen from Iloilo City Police Office Station 1 were seen in the vicinity of MIWD office before and after the press conference.
“In a peaceful and orderly manner, Jalbuena introduced the new members of the interim board,” the MIWD management said.*
