BACOLOD City Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. expressed his opposition on the proposed public-private partnership (PPP) of the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa).
Gamboa said Tuesday, October 16, Baciwa needs a consultation and approval from the City Council on their proposal.
“The Baciwa management called it a PPP, but it’s the same thing (privatization), so I’m not in favor with the move,” he said.
Last month, Baciwa started the deliberation on the proposed PPP of the water district.
In the previous years, Baciwa received unsolicited proposals from three private companies such as Metropac, Prime Water, and the Manila Water.
Gamboa said he already asked Baciwa to submit its financial statement to determine if they really need to privatize the water district.
“They [Baciwa] are earning so there’s no need to enter in PPP or to privatize the water district because Baciwa alone can sustain and afford to improve its services,” he said.
Gamboa disclosed that Baciwa should explain to the public their proposed privatization.
Lawyer Lorendo Dilag, chairman of the board of Baciwa, earlier said they are against privatization.
He said they are considering having a joint venture by way of an unsolicited proposal and not privatization as reported.
The unsolicited proposals are confidential and are being screened by Joint Venture Selection Committee composed by two lawyers from The Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) and two members of the Baciwa Board.
Dilag said Baciwa received unsolicited proposals based on the evaluation they made on the status of Baciwa.
“So Baciwa may either choose from the unsolicited proposals or not. The unsolicited proposal is different from the solicited proposal because under the solicited proposal, the company prepares the Term of Reference (TOR) and in this particular case, Baciwa has no TOR," he said.