City Council puts Iloilo under state of calamity

ILOILO CITY , Philippines  – This city has been declared by the City Council under state of calamity due to acute water shortage.

The Council, with 11 “yes” votes, one against and two abstentions, approved the request of Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog to declare the city under a state of calamity and to use funds intended to mitigate the effects of acute water crisis.

Councilor Jeffrey Ganzon voted against the measures, while Councilors David Jamora and Edward Yee opted for abstention.

City Council majority floor leader Joshua Alim and Councilors Perla Zulueta and Plaridel Nava led the pro-administration legislators during the regular session on Wednesday, in recognizing the water shortage problem that already became a crisis and calamity in city areas that have no access to safe and potable water from the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) here.

Alim said the problem and its solution are long overdue and the funds for the mayor’s project to help solve the crisis may be taken from the 30 percent quick response fund of P60 million earmarked as 30 percent of the five percent of the city calamity fund this year.

Zulueta said she is possession of MIWD documents showing the shortage and MIWD’s deficiencies in providing water to city constituents.

Of the total 180 barangays in this city, 58 villages are not served with water, two barangays are augmented with MIWD water deliveries and the rest are on scheduled deliveries.

Zulueta pointed out Republic Act 12021, which created the national and regional disaster risk reduction and management councils down to the barangay levels.

The law provides that if one or two barangays are severely affected with natural or man-made calamities, the local government unit has the right to use the calamity fund with 70 percent for disaster preparedness and 30 percent for quick response.

The city has a contingency fund of P700,000 which can be used anytime without approval from the city council and another P2 million from the 30 percent quick response fund balance as of previous years.

The lady councilor said resolutions of 33 affected barangays without water but within the service area of MIWD were filed last month to the office of the city mayor. This also prompted Mabilog to seek the help of the city council in solving the water crisis.

The amount will be used for the purchase of needed equipment or water delivery in the barangays which MIWD is not capable of doing.

FloWater, the MIWD contractor, failed to fulfill its commitment of giving water to MIWD and its inauguration was postponed four times. The latest promise was that FloWater will deliver water by early January 2013.

Alim said this water commitment of the contractor cannot be relied upon anymore as the summer season is already set to come in, thereby to aggravate the water shortage situation.  (FREEMAN)