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Saturday, September 27, 2003
Town council ‘didn’t ratify’ water contract
MAYOR Marlo Cañada yesterday found that Helpmate Inc. indeed has an agreement with the Minglanilla Municipal Government to extract water from the town for its residents and “other water users in cities and other parts of the province of Cebu.”
The agreement, Cañada said, after digging up documents on the issue, was signed on April 6, 2000. Helpmate, in a joint venture with Foremost Water Resources Inc., signed its deal with the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) in December 2002.
But still, Cañada plans to “bring the matter back to the people” through a public consultation because even he, who was then part of the council that gave authority to then mayor Eduardo Selma to sign the contract, was not aware of this provision.
Cañada asked why the authority given to Helpmate to supply water outside Minglanilla was not even discussed in the council. He also remembered that the topic discussed in the public hearing for Helpmate’s franchise was only its plan to supply to four barangays in the southern town.
Also, what Cañada found was only the resolution authorizing Selma to enter into a contract with Helpmate. There’s no mention of the council ratifying the details of the signed agreement.
The mayor also could not remember any provisions of the contract being discussed for ratification.
Water sale
The contract allows Helpmate to extract 5,000 cubic meters per day from Barangays Tungkop, Tubod, Cadulawan and Tunghaan.
Vice Mayor Eduardo Selma was not in his office yesterday. His secretary told Sun.Star that he usually does not bring a mobile phone. When asked for Selma’s residence number, the secretary also declined.
Cañada earlier said they have a “perception” that Selma “favors” Helpmate, of which Rep. Simeon Kintanar is reportedly part owner. Selma and Kintanar are allies. Kintanar could also not be contacted yesterday.
Helpmate’s articles of incorporation list a Simeon Kintanar from Argao as one of its owners.
Although the contract allows Helpmate to extract water from Minglanilla for “commercial purposes,” Cañada still feels that supplying water to MCWD should have been specified in the agreement and mentioned in the discussions.
15 years
The agreement is Helpmate’s second with the town because the first MOA, signed on Sept. 23, 1999, allows the company to extract water only for the town’s residents. The council specified this in an ordinance passed on Aug. 2, 1999.
Both agreements provide that Helpmate’s franchise is good for 15 years and renewable for another 15 years.
Minglanilla’s contract with Helpmate came into the limelight when some employees of MCWD raised questions on MCWD’s contract with Helpmate to supply 4,000 cubic meters of water a day from Minglanilla.
The workers asked the Commission on Audit and the Office of the Ombudsman to see if MCWD’s agreement with Helpmate is not onerous, considering that there were other bidders who named lower prices.
The employees also worry that the contract will lead to an increase in water rates in Cebu. An MCWD official, however, defended the deal, saying it even saves the water district a lot of money.
(September 27, 2003 issue)
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