Wednesday, October 11, 2006 NRWB still silent on refund
AYALA Corp. and its partners have paid P30,000 for the water permit fee and maintaining the water source in Carmen town, but the National Water Regulatory Board (NWRB) is still silent on which expenses Ayala should be reimbursed for.
Officials of the Ayala-led consortium said earlier that they will collect the P156-million project development cost if they lose in the bidding, including the expenses they incurred in securing the water permit.
The reimbursement of the project development cost, they said, has basis in the Water Code of the Philippines.
Expenses
Section 13 of the implementing rules and regulations of the Water Code states that “the National Water Resources Council may, after due notice and hearing, revoke the permit in favor of projects for greater beneficial use or for multi-purpose development, subject to compensation in proper cases.”
In a phone interview yesterday, NWRB Executive Director Ramon Alikpala said the NWRB Board did not decide which expenses can be compensated.
As for other expenses that may be covered by the term “project development cost,” Alikpala said it is up to the consortium and the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) to decide what expenses are included.
“No, the water permit fee will not have to be reimbursed if we cancel the permit. There is no compensation for that. But as for the other expenses, it’s the proponent and the implementing agency that will decide if it should be in the terms of reference of the project,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
MCWD Board Chairman Juan Saul Montecillo said it is not the district and the consortium that should decide on the coverage of the project development cost since it is not under their jurisdiction.
It is the NWRB that should determine what is “just compensation” as referred to in the Water Code.
The NWRB, however, has not decided what compensation the Ayala-led consortium is entitled to.
Fees
Alikpala said the consortium has paid a one-time water permit application fee of P500 in April of 1998. It has also paid an annual water charge of P3,680 since 1998, or a total of P29,440 as of this year.
The NWRB Board already approved a resolution stating that Ayala consortium’s water permit will be revoked if it fails to supply water to MCWD.
Alikpala explained earlier that in the event that Ayala fails to strike a deal with MCWD, either because they cannot agree on the contract or Ayala loses in the bidding, “then we will be compelled to revoke the permit because the original intent for which the permit was issued is no longer there.”
The consortium applied for a water permit for a specific area in the Luyang-Cantumog River where it proposed to source the water it will supply to MCWD. (LCR)
