THE Angeles City Council has asked Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. to file charges against officials of the Angeles City Water District (ACWD) in connection with alleged irregularities in the procurement and installation of UV Rays disinfectant machines worth P800 million.
This was gleaned in a resolution the City Council passed on Tuesday, January 28.
Councilor Jesus Sangil, proponent of the resolution, said the water district spent P30 to P50 million and acquired the first sets disinfectant machines that were installed to several pumping stations all over the city.
Sangil said the ACWD entered into a contract with a company for the acquisition of second batch of machines amounting to P800 million.
The mode of payment for the UV rays machines is P3.50 per cubic meter and the concessionaires consumes an aggregate of 1.6 million cubic meter per month, said the councilor.
During his privilege speech, Sangil stressed that the local officials will continue to protect the interest of the people of Angeles and the ACWD consumers.
"What we intend to do is to uphold public interests while protecting the rights of the water consumers. What we intend to do is to guard against misuse, abuse of public utilities, and water supply is one of them," he said.
ACWD General Manager Reynaldo Liwanag, meanwhile, belied Sangil's accusations, saying there were no irregularities in the acquisition of the UV light water purification units.
The ACWD official said they are always ready to face any charges in the proper forum.
"That is what they perceive of us. We cannot stop them from filing charges, that is their right. What we will do now is prepare for our response to their allegations," Liwanag said in the vernacular.