Sunday, March 16, 2008 Pabling counters Tom on MCWD dispute
REP. Pablo Garcia has called “a mistake” Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo’s position that supposedly supports the Cebu City’s authority to appoint the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) board members.
“It is not correct to say that at the time the Provincial Water Utilities Act was passed in 1973, Cebu City was already a highly-urbanized city. The charter of Cebu City was revised in 1971,” said Garcia (Cebu Province, 2nd district).
He was reacting to last week’s reports that quoted Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña as saying Benipayo “supported the position” of the City, which insists on having the power to pick who will compose the board.
Osmeña said the Office of the Solicitor General gave weight to Cebu City’s independence from Cebu Province. Last week, he showed reporters Benipayo’s comments, a copy of which he said he officially received last March 5.
Osmeña had said Benipayo acknowledged that any decision must take into consideration the laws that came into being after the MCWD was created and after Cebu city became independent from the province.
He and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia hold different opinions as to who between them has the power to appoint MCWD board members.
Last May 2, 2006, Governor Garcia filed a petition for declaratory relief, asking the court to rule that the power to appoint the members of the MCWD board belongs to her.
She said that the total active water service connections of MCWD within Cebu City are now below 75 percent, MCWD records show.
Turf
Presidential Decree 198, or the Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973, governs MCWD’s operations.
Section 3(b) states that the “person empowered to appoint the members of the board of directors of a local water district depends on the geographic coverage and population make-up of the particular district.”
If “more than 75 percent of the total active water service connections are within the boundary of a city, the appointing authority shall be the mayor of that city or municipality; otherwise, the appointing authority shall be the governor of the province within which the water district is located.”
“The law distinguishes when a certain percentage of the end-users reaches a certain level, it will be the mayor (who has the appointing power); and it goes the same with the governor,” Congressman Garcia said.
Mistake
“The basis of the Solicitor General’s opinion was a mistake,” he said.
He did say, though, that he would believe that Benipayo indeed made such comments only if he receives a copy of the document.
When asked if he would challenge the opinion, the congressman just said it is now up to the court.
“Besides, it is the Department of Justice that gives opinions when it comes to legal issues,” said the former Cebu governor.
He also said that the appointment of Cebu Investment Promotions Center managing director Joel Mari Yu to the MCWD board was against the law.
The Cebu Provincial Government has threatened to file a graft case against Osmeña and the MCWD board over the appointment, since the issue on who holds the appointing authority is still pending in court. (JGA)
