Mactan Rock to continue supplying water to MCWD

Mactan Rock Industries Inc. president and chief executive officer Antonio Tompar yesterday said his company would continue to supply water to Metropolitan Cebu Water District, thus assuring ample water supply to the consumers of Mactan Island.

Tompar said that he is happy with the decision of the water district's management to defer the imposition of 50 percent reduction on its payment to its bills to the water supplier. "Let's just wait for the decision of the board (MCWD board) and the Supreme Court."

Earlier, Tompar threatened to shutdown operations and file a case against MCWD following the letter from the water district outlining the penalties it has to pay that amounted to over P14 million.

However, Tompar said that all those were stalled after MCWD announced it would not collect the penalties while the Supreme Court does not issue a decision on their case.

Last Wednesday, Tompar said he wrote a letter to MCWD management to "clarify all the issues" and ask the management to resolve the problem.

"We are serving the people in the best of our ability," he said, adding that he does not want to pre-empt the decision of the water district's officials.

MCWD general manager Armando Paredes earlier explained that the water district will not yet impose the P14 million penalty because the case is still pending before the Supreme Court, which has issued a status quo on the case.

The water district has filed a temporary restraining order before the SC to stop the Construction Industry Arbitration Board from implementing the order directing MCWD to pay MRII its foreign exchange recovery costs.

Citing business losses, Tompar had announced to media the MRII's plan to shut down the operation of its desalination plants on Mactan Island, saying that his company is already operating at loss, and reduction in payment of MCWD will result to more losses for his company.

Shutdown in MRII's operations will mean scarcity of water on the whole Mactan Island as it supplies more than 50 percent of the water that MCWD concessionaires in the area are using.

Mayors of Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova town were alarmed by the issue and immediately moved to make both parties negotiate. The MCWD board is also discussing on how to solve the issue so as to protect the interest of consumers in Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova.

In his letter to MRII last June, Paredes said that its supply was always short since it first delivered water to MCWD in 1999 when their contract started.

Starting next billing, he added, they would impose any short delivery penalties as well as deduct 50 percent from the remaining bill until they recover the P14 million penalties. - Wenna A. Berondo