The Makabayan bloc filed a resolution urging the House of Representatives to investigate the joint venture agreement (JVA) between the Bacolod City Water District and PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. and its impact on the provision of water services and security of tenure of employees of BACIWA on Wednesday, April 12.
House Resolution 909 urging the Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization to conduct the inquiry in aid of legislation was filed by representatives France Castro (ACT Teachers Party-List), Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party) and Raoul Danniel Manuel (Kabataan Party-List).
The resolution said on June 17, 2020, a 25-year JVA was entered into by BACIWA and PrimeWater for the “financing, development, improvement, rehabilitation, expansion, operation and maintenance of the water supply and septage management systems of Bacolod City Water District.”
The JV Project started its operation on Nov. 13, 2020 and PrimeWater took over the operations and management of BACIWA, it said.
The agreement pushed through despite the opposition of Bacolod residents and BACIWA consumers through the Bacolod Water Consumers Watch Inc., the Amlig Tubig Coalition and the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Bacolod, and several barangay councils, the resolution noted.
The BACIWA consumers opposed the JVA with PrimeWater to tap the already depleted groundwater of Bacolod City, and instead called for public-to-public or district-to-district partnerships to tap surface water.
The fears of the consumers came true, just more than a year after the takeover by PrimeWater, complaints of “poor water service” were received by the Bacolod City SP, the resolution said.
The 2021 Commission on Audit report, after the PrimeWater takeover, also showed that the financial condition of BACIWA worsened. There was a glaring decrease of Gross Income from 2020 to 2021 in the amount of P466,246,422.32 and a net income decrease of P65,051,891.99, it said.
The significant audit observations also indicated that PrimeWater failed to remit the amount of P30,936,914.79 as Net Usufruct Payment to BACIWA based on the JVA and Certificate of Successful Negotiations. Even the P294.48 million planned capital expenditure required from PrimeWater could not be ascertained due to the non-submission of compliance report by BACIWA and non-reporting of costs of its projects, the resolution said.
After the implementation of the JVA, of the 474 employees of the BACIWA, only 45 employees were retained by PrimeWater while the rest were illegally separated or availed themselves of the Early Retirement Package effective Jan. 4, 2021, it added.
Leny Rojo Espina, Bacolod City Water District Employees Union (BEU) president, together with 58 other members immediately filed a case for illegal termination with the regional office of the Civil Service Commission which eventually decided in favor of the employees even after a motion for reconsideration was filed by BACIWA-PrimeWater.
This was appealed by BACIWA-Prime Water with the CSC Commissioners and has been pending resolution since November 2021, Espina said.
Congress must initiate legislative measures to reverse water privatization, improve water access and services to the people, and save the public from the profiteering of big private companies, the Makabayan representatives said.*