As LWUA insists on intervention: Daluz-led board won’t step aside

CEBU, Philippines — The Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) is standing firm in its decision to partially take over the policy-making body of Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) as the current members of the MCWD board refused to step aside.

Yesterday, March 21, 2024, the MCWD board and the LWUA officials met in a closed-door meeting at the MCWD building following a press conference of the current board members.

During the press conference, MCWD chairman Jose Daluz alongside general manager Edgar Donoso and secretary Jodelyn Seno stressed that they are not stepping down and are maintaining a status quo.

It was the first time Daluz physically entered the MCWD premises following the takeover of LWUA last March 15, 2024.

According to Daluz, they are not fighting the LWUA, but only LWUA chairman Ronnie Ong, whom Daluz said has other “interests.”

“This is all about Ronnie Ong, we will not involve the entire LWUA or the institution because there are some people in LWUA who are not agreeing to this action of Ronnie Ong. I just want to be clear, we are not fighting the LWUA institution, the people in LWUA, it is only Ronnie Ong, the chairman who has interest to take over the MCWD,” said Daluz.

Further, he said that they would only consider the interim board as visitors, emphasizing that they cannot take over.

Daluz also said that the interim board will have to go to court as he and his group will continue to resist.

“Basta we will not let them takeover MCWD, mao nay number. I don’t know unsa ilang buhaton, I don’t think these are professionals, I don’t think there will be force to takeover, they have to resort to the court to takeover,” said Daluz.

Asked about the motivation for the status quo, Donoso said they are not convinced by the “one-page” document provided to them by LWUA Administrator Joey Moises Salonga to back the takeover.

According to Donoso, they asked for supporting documents to further support the takeover, saying that the Presidential Decree (PD) 198, which states the policy for the LWUA takeover particularly on the failure of the water district to pay its financial obligation to LWUA, is not reason enough.

“Mao gyud nay basic kay gitan-aw sa LWUA ang financial sustainability sa operations sa water district. If the water district can no longer operate because of financial problem, then that’s the time nga sila LWUA mu come in,” said Donoso.

Donoso further said that it wasn’t LWUA’s business to take over the operation of the water district.

Further highlighting their financial capacity, Donoso said that their standing loan is only at P13 million, defeating what could be LWUA’s primary reason to take over. The current asset of the MCWD is at P6 billion.

Donoso also said that they weren’t given notice for any violation or notice of failure to settle any violation. He also said that they were not given time to explain any violation.

He added that they weren’t given due process and was surprised by the sudden takeover.

Daluz said that LWUA’s work should only be assisting the water districts.

The board is now seeking the opinion of the Office of Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) on the legality of LWUA’s takeover.

Right after the press conference, the LWUA officials arrived with the appointed interim board. They were welcomed by Daluz, Seno, and Donoso and proceeded with a closed-door meeting.

LWUA insists on intervention

Right after the closed-door meeting, the interim board faced the media for a press conference to reportedly iron out issues hounding the MCWD.

According to Ong, the LWUA Board of Trustees released Resolution 35, which sets aside the current board of MCWD pending the investigation on issues surrounding the water district.

“We are not (taking over). We are setting aside the current board to check on all the documentation and other questions nag-surround sa MCWD,” said Ong.

Salonga also said the intervention will run for six months, admitting that they were “perplexed” by the response of the MCWD board. According to him, it seemed like the current board is questioning the power of LWUA to investigate and install an interim board, a move supported by PD 198.

“Nagugulohan kami kasi parang ang OA namin na ayaw bumaba,” said Salonga.

He added it is unusual that the existing board members are insisting that the LWUA needs to notify them before they could intervene.

“I hope we had come to one accord on how to end this matter peacefully, lawfully, and hopefully we can walk out smiling. Nobody is being replaced, very clear. They are being set aside,” said Salonga.

He added that they are intervening because there is a “breach” of the “obligations, promises and convenance” under the Financial Assistance Contract.

Aside from these, there are also concerns over Commission on Audit (COA) findings that need to be investigated, he said.

Further, they were also alarmed over the 70 percent looming increase in water rates that Daluz and his group requested from LWUA.

On the status quo stance of the MCWD employees signed by Donoso, Salonga said that he cannot find any legal grounds for such a decision.

“Naging korte na ba to? Do we need to ask permission to regulate?” said Salonga.

Salonga insisted that they are just doing their job and that aside from assisting water districts, they are also tasked to regulate the water service.

Ong then said that the MCWD board seems to be hiding "something".

Among those that they want to investigate is the continuous increase of the Non-Revenue Water (NRW) or leakage since 2019. Currently, the NRW of MCWD has reached 32 percent which is at 21 million gallons a day. Ong added that despite this loss, there were still several projects implemented that were questioned by COA.

LWUA also clarified that there is no political pressure on their intervention, debunking concerns that they have been commanded by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.

As for seeking police assistance, Ong reiterated that is to protect the interim board after a memorandum was allegedly released by GM Donoso for a cease-and-desist of all the documents from MCWD.

MCWD and LWUA Agreement

Right after both press conferences, both parties paid Cebu Provincial Governor Gwendolyn Garcia a visit.

In a live statement released through Sugbo News, both the interim and MCWD board agreed to wait for the opinion of OGCC. Pending such, the MCWD board agreed to give the interim board access to the documents.

LWUA had said that the fate of the MCWD board will be determined after the six-month intervention in accordance with the result of the investigation. — /ATO (FREEMAN)