BY NYARIKA DOMANAIS
BACOLOD City – To address water scarcity in this city, the City Council committee has proposed granting non-exclusive franchise to water suppliers.
The City Council has approved in first reading the proposed ordinance entitled “An ordinance laying down the policies and guidelines for the grant of a non-exclusive franchise to construct, establish, commission, operate and maintain a water supply system for Bacolod City.”
It was authored by Councilor Vladamir Gonzales, the chairman of the Council’s committee on ways and means, housing, public utilities, and human rights.
The proposed ordinance stated that, “Bacolod City is in need of a more efficient and effective water utility provider capable of constructing, establishing, commissioning, operating, and maintaining a water supply system that sufficiently addresses the public need and convenience of the people of Bacolod City.”
“Ever since ang BACIWA (Bacolod City Water District) ang aton provider sa water. Tapos they also entered into a joint venture agreement (JVA) with a private company [PrimeWater Infrastructure, Inc.,]. But so far daw kadamo gid sang problema. People can attest to that. Ang pag-enter sang BACIWA sa joint venture with a private company did not address sang aton nga supply [of water] sa Bacolod,” the city councilor said.
He added: “So ang ini nga ordinance gina-lay down niya ang guidelines and framework to pave some investors to come in just like Iloilo, may iba nga water provider ang Iloilo. Amo gid na ang essence sina, ma-address ang problema naton sa tubig.”
Under the proposed ordinance, the city would accept water providers as long as they could secure a water permit and a certificate of public convenience from the National Water Resources Board (NWRB).
Last month, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez directed the BACIWA officials to submit a water security plan as he noted the failure of PrimeWater to comply with its contract to improve supply for Bacolod residents in the past four years.
He cited Section 5.1.2 of the contract between BACIWA and PrimeWater, effective from November 13, 2020, mandating that PrimeWater must ensure all consumers enjoy a continuous 24-hour water supply by the end of the second year.
“By 2022, all consumers should have been experiencing an uninterrupted water supply. Clearly, this has not been achieved,” said Benitez.
Due to the drought triggered by the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, the city mayor bared that Bacolod currently requires 125 million liters per day (MLD) of water.
However, the city’s water supply has a capacity of only 70 MLD, and has decreased to 50 MLD, resulting in a shortfall of 20 MLD.
Following this, the city government implemented water rationing, or the “Patubig Sa Barangay” program.
From April 9 to May 1, the city government and its partners had delivered some 526,000 liters of water to residents affected by the water shortage./PN
