By EDITH COLMO and MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City — City government officials here have no authority to intervene in the conflict in Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa), Vice Mayor Greg Gasataya yesterday said.
Baciwa has its own mandate and is directly under the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), he said in a radio interview.
“Its policies emanate from its Board of Directors — including the appointment or dismissal of the general manager, following certain processes,” said Gasataya.
The role of the city mayor, the vice mayor stressed, is limited to “appointing the members of the Board of Directors.”
Gasataya pointed out that Baciwa’s situation cannot be likened to that of Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) in Iloilo City.
“In the case of (MIWD), the city and provincial governments intervened because the water supply was stopped,” he said.
As regards the consumer groups’ request for City Council intervention, Gasataya, the presiding officer, said the most that the council can do is “refer [the matter] to LWUA, the water district’s head agency.”
Meanwhile, three Baciwa directors refuted the City Council’s claim in its resolution about the water district’s general manager position. In Resolution No. 08-14-709, series of 2014, the council stated:
“Whereas, the Memorandum Circular (MC) 01-2014 of the Civil Service Commossion (CSC) dated Jan. 23, 2014, which adopts the guidelines providing that pursuant to the doctrine of operative facts and in the higher interest of equity, justice and fairness, the permanent appointments issued to GM incumbents before June 5, 2013 on the basis of CSC Resolution No. 06-01052 and CSC MC No. 12, series of 2006 shall be respected.”
In a letter to the council dated Aug. 15, 2014, directors Lawrence Villanueva, Lorendo Dilag and Marichi Ramos claimed that a water district general manager position is “non-career,” which means he or she may be terminated, provided there is due process.
“This was clearly held by the Supreme Court in its decision in the case, ‘CSC versus Pililia Water District’ dated March 5, 2013,” they said.
Baciwa general manager Juliana Carbon’s argument that she cannot be suspended or terminated for being a permanent employee “has, definitely, no legal basis in fact or in law,” said the directors.
The Board, via the vote of three directors, placed Carbon under a 30-day preventive suspension for “loss of trust and confidence,” among others.
Villanueva, Dilag and Ramos asked the city councilors to be “discerning in its pronouncements.” They said they are willing to clarify matters in one of the council’s regular sessions.
Ironically, Vice Mayor Gasataya also believes that the Baciwa general manager “is not the same with regular employees because his or her position is not permanent.”
Amid the power play at Baciwa, he said LWUA must soon appoint an unbiased interim general manager to “oversee and thresh out problems” at the water district.
LWUA was set to appoint an interim Baciwa general manager today./PN
