Senior citizens want water district turned into coop

SENIOR citizens, who enjoyed a one day stint as City Officials by virtue of Administrative Order 126 issued by Mayor Mauricio Domogan, were eager to contribute laws to improve services of the Baguio Water District (BWD).

Senior Citizen Official for a Day (Scofad) Councilor Alejandro Quitoriano recently sought for the conversion of the Baguio Water District into a cooperative under the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

Quitoriano, who chaired the Committee on Public Utilities, said many water districts in the country were already converted into water cooperatives through registration with the CDA.

“The effect of this move is for the betterment of the city’s populace especially the poor as it will result to lower water charges caused by tax exemptions and duty free of imported machineries, equipment and other supplies,” he said.

As a cooperative, consumers are required to pay a certain amount as share capital to be determined by the City Council for its subsequent approval and immediate forwarding to the general manager of the BWD, he said.

Meanwhile, Scofad Councilor Rogelio Sison also requested BWD general manager Teresita De Guzman to authorize punong barangays to conduct periodical inspection and detection of illegal tapping and installation of water pipelines.

The Scofad councilor, who headed the Committee on Barangay Affairs, stressed it is proper to authorize village chiefs to conduct these tasks to assess the water system, report repair works to prevent water loss and disruption of water supply.

“Illegal connections can pose threat to human health. One of its effects is water contamination and occurrence of water-borne diseases and even lead to death,” Sison said.

He added illegal connections also lead to water wastage and revenue loss for BWD leading further to opportunity loss as expansion projects could be delayed due to lack of funds.

In celebration of the National Elderly Month this October, Scofad Tolentino Opiniano took over the position of Representative Bernardo Vergara while former Councilor and lawyer Virgilio Bautista took over as city mayor while Scofad Alberto Bravo Sr. came in as vice mayor of the city for a day.

Other Scofad councilors who took over various council committees are: Elisio Sarmiento(Social Services, Women and Urban Poor), Policarpio Lansigan (Laws), Filemon Longakit (Urban Planning, Lands and Housing), Carlito Ballesteros (Tourism), Rosa Rillera (Education, Culture and Historical Research), Florentino Awingan (Human Rights, Justice, Public Protection), Victorio Afalla (Market), Juan Allibang (Cooperatives), Dr. Nestor Escosa (Health and Environment), Clarita Climacosa (Ethics and Governmental Affairs), Engr. Benigno Andam (Public Works) and Joseph Clemente (Youth and Sports).