The Sangguniang Panlungsod is asking the Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA)-PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. (PrimeWater) to explain their poor services.
The resolution requesting BACIWA-PrimeWater branch manager Farah Jenny Monteclaro through general manager Mona Dia Jardin to provide the SP a written explanation on their poor water services, was approved during the SP regular session Wednesday, August 31.
The resolution was authored by Bacolod City Councilor Kalaw Puentevella, chairman of SP committee on energy and public utilities.
It has come to the attention of the members of the SP that numerous resident-consumers of Bacolod City are complaining that the water provided by BACIWA-PrimeWater is tainted with color, mud, and sand particles and that the availability of supply in some areas is unpredictable, Puentevella said.
Section 9 of Article XVI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that the State shall protect consumers from trade malpractices and from substandard or hazardous products, the councilor said.
BACIWA is considered to be a government-owned and controlled corporation. It is imbued with public interest and its creation or charter emanated from Presidential Decree 198, Puentevella said.
He pointed out that the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) entered into by BACIWA and PrimeWater aims to provide potable, reliable, and sustainable water supply and services to its consumers in the city.
PrimeWater, which is owned by the Villar family, took over the operations of BACIWA in November 2020. However, the joint venture agreement displaced 60 workers due to position redundancy.
The Commission on Audit (COA) earlier directed the management of BACIWA to “seek clarifications and reconciliation” regarding the JVA with PrimeWater “to ascertain the legality” of the deal.*