CEBU, Philippines — Engr. Miguelito Pato is now the chairman of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) board of directors (BOD), replacing lawyer Jose “Joey” Daluz III, who stepped down from the post to pursue his political plans as runningmate of Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia.
Pato, however, will only have a little over two and a half months as chairman, as his term is also set to expire at the end of December. Pato and Daluz’s terms as part of the MCWD BOD would have ended at the same time had Daluz not resigned.
Pato, who is representing the business sector, would have been the MCWD BOD chairman since May 2023 had he and the others agreed to then mayor Michael Rama’s proposal to have Daluz replaced.
That was after Rama expressed his “loss of confidence” in Daluz, who was his political ally in the 2022 elections but later had a falling out.
Pato, though, had opted to rally behind Daluz together with fellow BOD member Jodelyn May Seno while the other board members, Atty. Danilo V. Ortiz and Atty. Earl M. Bonachita, had opted to stop joining the BOD meetings with Daluz as the chairman.
With Daluz’s position also vacant, ascended Mayor Raymond Garcia recently appointed lawyer Ferdinand Pepito, a former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and Daluz’s “law partner,” as new MCWD BOD member.
Mayor Garcia had earlier said that Dr. Marlo Maamo would also be appointed as part of the MCWD BOD, but he told The Freeman that he did not receive an appointment letter yet.
Maamo had planned to run for a City Council seat under the coalition of Garcia’s Kugi Uswag Sugbo (KUSUG) and Daluz’s Panaghiusa but did not push through, for some reason.
Pato was already serving as acting chairman when Daluz filed his candidacy for vice-mayor in the city of Cebu and runningmate of Garcia last Oct. 8.
Pato called a special meeting last Friday with him, Seno, and Pepito in attendance. Pato was elected as chairman during that meeting, with Seno as vice chairman and Pepito as board secretary.
During the same meeting, the board, with Pato at the helm, also expressed its confidence in Edgar H. Donoso as MCWD's general manager.
“Edgar remains our trusted leader at MCWD,” Pato said. Donoso has been serving as MCWD’s full-fledged general manager since Dec. 16, 2022.
“We are confident the water district is in capable hands and on the right track under his leadership and management,” Pato said. –/RHM (FREEMAN)