BY PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA – It’s not just the water. Money, too, is leaking out of Iloilo City’s Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) to the point of making the city’s sole water distributor bankrupt, according to Sen. Franklin Drilon.
The Ilonggo senator told Panay News that MIWD will lose “P50 million” this year alone.
“Fifty percent” of the water MIWD buys from Flo Water Resources Iloilo, Inc., its bulk water supplier, would be lost to leaks in water distribution pipes, said Drilon.
“For every 100 cubic meters of water MIWD buys from Flo Water, it only collects and earns revenues from 50 cubic meters. The rest are lost to pilferage, leaking pipes, etc.,” he lamented.
Drilon is convinced that rehabilitating MIWD to improve its services won’t do.
He recalled a 2005 study showing that “P1.5 billion” is needed for the water district’s rehabilitation.
“The government does not have that kind of money to throw into MIWD. Money will just leak out of the MIWD and problems will remain unsolved,” said Drilon.
A congressional inquiry three months ago discovered MIWD’s financial losses and deep indebtedness to its bulk water suppliers.
Dr. Danilo Encarnacion, chairman of the MIWD Board, also said the P100 million-plus that the water district used to have in bank deposits was all used up.
Calls are getting louder for either MIWD’s abolition or privatization. Drilon said “there is no other solution.”
“MIWD is bankrupt. It’s hopeless,” the Senate president told Panay News.
He suggested that water distribution in Iloilo City be done by another private entity.
“Flo Water can remain as bulk water supplier,” he added.
On June 14 and 15, the city did not have water. Flo Water stopped supplying MIWD because the water district had not paid it.
An angry Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog called for MIWD’s abolition while the Sangguniang Panlungsod gave him authority to institute measures to ensure the city’s water supply.
The situation worried Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 6 director Helen Catalbas, too.
She warned that the lack of water supply will have an “impact” on the operation of hotels and other tourist establishments in Iloilo City and neighboring towns.
“I can imagine the impact on their operational cost… accommodation establishments have a standard to maintain and guests pay for that standard,” Catalbas told Panay News.
The DOT official thanked the accommodation sector “for keeping the Ilonggo brand of hospitality alive despite the additional stress on their budget.”
Still, she remains hopeful that the city’s water deficiencies will be solved soon.
DOT Region 6 under Catalbas has just launched a new tourism package to attract more tourists to Iloilo City and the rest of Western Visayas.
In an interview with Panay News yesterday, Iloilo City’s Cong. Jerry Treñas said the time has come for MIWD’s privatization.
But he said the water rates should be “realistically pro-people.”
“Iloilo has to move forward and we must change institutions if necessary,” Treñas said.
Panay Consumers’ Alliance agreed that water supply and distribution services in Iloilo City need improvement. However, it is against privatization, fearing that such will result to the skyrocketing of the price of water./PN
