THE Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) management and the more than 120 employees wanted the water district converted into a cooperative, instead of a plan for privatization.
Fearing they might lose their jobs once privatized, MIWD general manager Le Jayme Jalbuena said they would prefer a cooperative with all employees owning a share of the water district.
The war between the Board of Directors and the management for several months has already escalated by throwing accusations against each other and forgetting their mandated function to supply potable water to the concessionaires in the covered areas.
Earlier, the MIWD Board of Directors informed the management and employees of a plan for possible Public-Private Partnership (PPP) "most suited for MIWD in effectively managing, operating, improving and maintaining its water supply facilities aimed to respond to the water, sewer and sanitation needs of the ever growing populace of its service area."
Jalbuena said the water district is serving the water needs of more than 700,000 people in Iloilo City and in the municipalities of Pavia, Sta Barbara, Cabatuan, Maasin, San Miguel, Oton, and Leganes.
Resolution No. 086 series of 2010 approved by the MIWD Board of Directors on April 12, 2010 shows the adoption of the Castalia Final Report-Assistance to MIWD in exploring options for the provision of water supply and sanitation services.
A grant from the World Bank thru the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) provides advisory services by way of conducting a study and rapid assessment report on the PPP options.
City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas admitted that the plan is not sole privatization but a module similar to the Metro Manila water supply system, which private corporations bid out to distribute water to the different parts of Manila and provide safe water supply.
Currently, MIWD is only serving water to 20 percent of the total population of the city.
However, the employees fear that they might lose their jobs and other perks such as monthly rice allowance, bonuses and other opportunities once privatized.
They also charged the board, which is policy making body of MIWD, of interfering and went over their function in managing and operating the water district.