A resolution was recently introduced before the Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod calling for a congressional inquiry into the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) including matters pertaining to insufficient supply and failure to provide clean water.
The resolution, penned by Bacolod City Councilor Wilson Gamboa, Jr., noted Baciwa’s water coverage remains below 60 percent, pointing out, “Some water supply areas with facilities of Baciwa have minimal water supply at limited time, thick turbid water flow, or no water at all.”
He also reiterated a point made during a previous privilege speech, where he questioned the P537 million borrowed in loans by the utility firm back in 2007 intended to increase water coverage area to 80 percent.
Earlier this month, Gamboa asked, “Where did the P537 million loan and the additional supplemental budget of P108 Million in 2002 to 2008 go?”
The city official has been hounding Baciwa over their proposed joint venture with PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation.
“It is also important for Baciwa to present to the people of Bacolod other project proposals of interested parties such as Metro Pacific [and] Manila Water, including Baciwa’s in-house proposal.” he noted during the said speech. “It is important to note that in the light of the problems, controversies, and issues concerning these private water concessionaires.”
Gamboa added, the utility firm’s lack of answers creates a “form of oppression,” which leads the public to view a  joint venture agreement as a “necessary evil.”
He had also previously called for the Baciwa Board of Directors to resign, referring to the aforementioned joint venture as “arbitrary and illegal,” claiming, “The venture is not an option in order to solve the city’s water supply woes.”/WDJ