SENATOR Cynthia Villar assured the public that the water rates won't be abused in the proposed joint venture between the Bacolod City Water District and Prime Water which is owned by her eldest son, Paolo Villar.

“In terms of rates, they will discuss it, and rates won't be abused. If they invest, they will have to get the return of investment because this is an additional investment to expand water coverage,” Villar said.

Baciwa chair Lorendo Dilag said the negotiation between Prime Water and Baciwa will start this month after the company's unsolicited proposal passed the evaluation of the Joint Venture Committee in terms of financial, legal and technical aspects.

Villar said that Prime Water has been into a joint venture with water districts for the last five years.

“They have several joint ventures in different areas in Luzon, Mindanao. So I think they are doing it as ordinary business. They are offering to cities and towns to do a joint venture,” she said, adding that before her son entered into joint venture business with water districts, he has been supplying water in all Camella Homes where he started five years ago.

Usually, the local government units can only serve 40 percent of their customer and the other 60 percent has no water, she said. “You need to put up several lines to serve more customers and that he wanted to serve more people to have water and this could be realized through a joint venture. With government, usually, they don't have funds to expand.”

A multi-sectoral group has already submitted their opposition on the joint venture for fears that it may result in higher water rates as private companies would always go after for the profit and return of their investments.

The group also claimed that such plan of Baciwa has not gone through enough public hearings to get the opinion of the public especially the stakeholders of Baciwa.