The Board of Directors of Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA) clarified and explained during a January 5 press conference their position relative to the issue of declaring the 60 employees redundant on the last working days of 2020.  
Atty. Lorendo K. Dilag reiterated that the process of declaring them redundant is legal and due process was observed. He manifested that prior to the approval of the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA), the Board and the Joint Venture Selection Committee, observing due process, gave all employees a thorough and repeated group and individual discussions on the JV project and the structure of their employment, particularly on their choice of the option whether to be absorbed by PrimeWater or to avail of the early retirement incentive plan as provided in the agreement.
According to BACIWA Board of Directors while it is true that the JVA between BACIWA and PrimeWater shall severe the government service of these employees, the Joint Venture Selection Committee made sure that they will automatically hired and absorbed by PrimeWater with higher compensation and benefits. While most of the employees availed the options, the 60 employees, mostly members of Baciwa Employees Union who decided not to select either options but insisted to remain as employees of BACIWA, failed to exercise their option to be automatically hired and/absorbed by PrimeWater, and instead chose to be jobless rather than to be employed by PrimeWater.
The Board of Directors added that as part of due process on December 1, 2020, individual notices were sent to and received by these employees reiterating among others, the effectivity of the JVA, the reorganization and rightsizing of the employee’s structure and the possibility that their positions might be redundant, but said concerns raised by the Board notwithstanding, these employees in their letter reply were insistent to remain as BACIWA employees. Subsequently, on December 9, 2020, the Board sent another notice/letter to these employees requesting for their utmost consideration on the matter but said notices were deliberately ignored by these employees.
Dilag said the BACIWA Board of Directors has already exhausted all means and has given all the opportunity to these employees to exercise their option wisely, but still they remain adamant and refused to accept, recognize, and respect the JVA.

In fact, Dilag said, they sought the opinion and guidance on the process for the separation of BACIWA employees due to redundancy of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, and part of the opinion reads, “Hence, in regard to the necessary process for the separation of BACIWA employees, the requirement of the existence of a valid cause and the conduct of due notice and hearing must be complied with. Redundancy is a valid cause and in this case, the law only requires prior notice and hearing. This is however without prejudice to the right of the affected BACIWA employees to appeal or avail of the remedies provided by the law to question their separation./WDJ