ILOILO City – Mayor Raisa Treñas has delivered a sharp rebuke to Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW), demanding faster infrastructure rollout and better service delivery amid a prolonged water crisis affecting thousands of residents in Iloilo City.
The mayor summoned MPIW executives to a meeting recently to express the city government’s growing frustration over the utility firm’s sluggish response to persistent water shortages.
MPIW assistant vice president Jonet Sanalila, who flew in from Manila, said the company will inaugurate a modular water treatment plant by October 2025 with a capacity of one million liters per day (MLD), followed by another 1 MLD unit in December.
But the announcement failed to reassure Mayor Treñas, who criticized the 2027 target for MPIW’s full 5 MLD capacity as too slow and inadequate given the current crisis.
“MPIW should double time. Our people need water every single day — not two years from now,” said Mayor Treñas. “This is a basic necessity. Our residents are already waking up at midnight just to fill containers because there’s no water during the day. That is not the kind of service they deserve.”
MPIW assumed control of water distribution in Iloilo City through a joint venture with Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD), but complaints from residents in Mandurriao, Jaro, and Molo districts have persisted — citing low water pressure, intermittent supply, and days-long outages.
Adding to public discontent are complaints from barangay officials and homeowners’ associations about MPIW’s failure to issue timely advisories on scheduled service interruptions and roadworks. Mayor Treñas said the company’s poor communication is exacerbating the problem.
“The public deserves to be informed, whether it’s a temporary shutoff or a major road project. There is no excuse for poor coordination,” she said.
She also stressed the urgency of replacing aging pipelines in leak-prone areas, which MPIW plans to undertake, but which the city believes should have begun long ago.
“We appreciate the intent, but these upgrades should have been initiated much earlier. What matters now is how fast and how well they execute,” Treñas emphasized.
The city government said it will continue to monitor MPIW’s commitments and demand regular updates./PN