Solon seeks privatization of MIWD

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Representative Jerry Treñas of the city’s lone district has urged the privatization of the Metro Iloilo Water District to discontinue the experimental and costly mistake of its water supply system, which deters economic growth of the metropolis.

Treñas filed House Resolution 1363 urging the Local Water Utilities Administration and the MIWD to initiate the process of privatization of the local water supplier.

Citing the 2010 World Bank-funded report stating that MIWD has been providing low value for money water service compared with other cities in the country, Treñas contended that only 20 percent of the households in the city has direct water connections, with the rest getting intermittent supply at low pressure.

“Many residents and businesses within the MIWD service area have already expressed their sentiments and frustrations over the inability of the water district to consistently provide water in their area,” he said.

Treñas said the water distribution problem in all the service area covered by MIWD hampered the rapid development of the city as it compromises business operations and causes anxiety to its concessioners in neighboring towns of Oton, Maasin, San Miguel, Pavia, Santa Barbara, Leganes and Cabatuan.

The same study of World Bank showed that, from 1987 to 2008, the MIWD had spent almost P887 million to improve and rehabilitate its facilities, including pipelines, but this was seemed not enough to improve services.

During the public hearing of the House committee on good government and public accountability conducted in this city on March 6, last year, it was revealed that MIWD even suffered financial losses and significant deficit in its cash flow, Trenas said, adding that the water district could not even pay its obligations to suppliers.

City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, for his part, said he will seek legal basis to let the city government manage water distribution. “We have no problem on the water supply because we have lot of it. The only problem is the distribution of water supply to the consumers which the MIWD failed to do so. We could not bear anymore having this kind of distribution,” he said.

The mayor said the problem might be solved if the MIWD will leave the distribution management to the city itself and other neighboring LGUs dependent to its supply. “We will buy water from MIWD. They will act as water source but we will do the distribution,” and then the city will get a private investor to manage it. (FREEMAN)