THIS TIME, Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) assistant general manager for operations Jenelyn Gemora and I are on the same side of the table.
Each month, I hold a dialog with her on why we are deprived by water in Alijis by six to seven hours from 12 midnight to six in the morning. I usually wake up in the wee hours of the morning just to fill the pails.
And then Gemora would point at the Bacolod Water Inc. (BBWI) for the non-delivery of water for most of the night and evening.
Well, I signed a contract not with BBWI but with Baciwa to be a concessionaire. In exchange, I have to line up to pay for the payment of the monthly bills.
I religiously pay my monthly obligations, while Baciwa management failed to comply with theirs.
This time, Gemora finally served a notice to BBWI last week and it is the usual procedure in the project if there is a deficiency.
The good news? As the saying goes, “Kung gusto, may paraan.” What do you know, we have water almost the whole day. Maybe not as much as it should deliver, but I count with a thumbs up to small blessings.
Baciwa gave BBWI seven days from receipt of notice to submit their justifications, comments, opposition or undertaking, otherwise, the district will be constrained to proceed with measures including but not limited to the rescission of the contract in accordance with the provisions of the contract Republic Act 9184 and the pertinent suppletory provisions of the Civil Code of the Philippines.
BBWI violated Section 1, Article III of the bulk water supply contract which its water was not injected or delivered by BBWI to the 9,842 cubic meter reservoir since day one of delivery on October 16, 2017, hence Baciwa was not able to accept the delivered water at the Injection Point at 9, 842 cubic meter reservoir at Loygoy in Barangay Granada.
BBWI has failed to install pipes leading to the reservoir to inject water, after the lapse of the 18 month project completion period and an agreed extension of six months.
BBWI’s excuse? They already invested millions of pesos without working out a right of way. Gemora said the BBWI started its water delivery in November last year but were not paid because of the non-compliance on the contract.
I am not an engineer and as I said to Gemora, I am not interested in debating on technical jargon. As an environmentalist, my comfort zone lies somewhere else.
What Alijisnons want is the steady supply of water. Period. (bqsanc@yahoo.mail)