THE staging of the 41st National Convention of the Philippine Association of Water Districts in Davao City this week is apt in terms of time and venue. For one, our own Davao City Water District (DCWD) is midway in the construction of multi-billion infrastructures in partnership with Apo Agua Infrastructura for its bulk water project. DCWD decided in 2012 to tap the surface water of Tamugan and Panigan which initially will supply at lease 300-million liters of treated water daily to its residential and industrial clients.
Tapping alternative source of water addresses major issues confronting DCWD in guaranteeing sufficient and sustainable water supply for the present and future generations. Presently the water district draws out its supply from about 60 production wells. About 99 percent of these are located mostly in the 1st District which is abundantly endowed with valuable aquifers. The recent ones are situated in the 3rd Districts where the recharge areas are also found.
Davao City’s growth in terms of population and industries however poses a daunting challenge for DCWD. It cannot over-extract water from its rich aquifers apprehensive that salt water might intrude into these resources and the impact will be irreversible. Thus the decision to tap the surface water of Tamugan and Panigan rivers which is about 60 kilometers away from the city proper was imperative.
Approving the bulk water project by DCWD Board of Directors Chaired by Ed Bangayan is one thing, but getting the nod of various regulatory agencies is one hell of a nightmarish experience for the water district. I should know for I sat in the BoD at the height of all these. Getting a partner for this gargantuan project takes months to get the nod of the National Economic Development Authority. Local Water Utilities Administration has a funny role to play it’s too inconsequential as the National Water Regulatory Board authorizing DCWD to tap an X amount of water from the twin rivers which none of its officials have seen. Incredible but believe me it’s true.
It was good that then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte supported the project and then later by Mayor Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio. But despite the patent approval of the two, the City Council has another role to play and some councilors toyed with the project proposal like they do with subdivision projects...if you get my drift. It’s like going through a needles eye but while we painstakingly present in bold strokes the why and wherefores of the project, a Cebu-based water concessionaires, Helpmate, sashayed through the Council at a lightning speed. How this happened partakes of a glorious mystery to me up to this time.
But that is not the end of the story, the Department of Agrarian Reform needs to certify and agree to the conversion of a piece of land in Gumalang where the water treatment plant, laboratory and reservoir have to be constructed. DAR gave DCWD a run around. Initially the regional office refused to accept Apo Agua and DCWD’s letter seeking approval for the land conversion on the pretext that they cannot act on the 15-day directive of Pres. Duterte for government agencies to act on matters brought to them. When finally it was elevated to the main office, the document stayed there for what felt like eternity. They even had the temerity to say that it was held in Malacañang. Chairman Bangayan and I went to see Exec. Sec. Salvador Midealdea to check on the status of DCWD’s appeal.
Cursory review of all documents received by Midealdea’s office did not reflect receipt of the document. The good Secretary later asked all his staff to search for the document but yielded nothing. I do not know what happened but later the following week, DAR finally issued its imprimatur.
In the course of all these Apo Agua had to deal with road-right-of way for the distribution pipes and conferring with the Indigenous tribes since the rivers are located in the ancestral domain. Dealing with the IPs was no problem but with the barangay officials is another story for they demanded a share from the profits of DCWD and Apo Agua.
The reason of why I have to reveal these bureaucratic problems is to underline the importance of just one regulatory body to oversee water utilities. Maybe a Department of Water.
Consider these.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on the “Oligarchs” stemmed from the discovery of the onerous contract Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System inked with Manila Water and Maynilad. However, he was seemingly not aware that close to a hundred water districts all over the country are already under the control of Prime Water Infrastructure Corp. owned by the Villars. Consumers of the two concessionaires of MWSS have incessantly complained of high rates and inadequate water supply. On the other hand Prime Water clients complained of below-standard quality of water they get.
What triggered Duterte’s personal crusade to safeguard the interest of the consuming public was actually the decision of the Singapore-based Arbitration court where MWSS and its concessionaires elevated their conflict on rates and money claims. The President saw how the consumers and the government had been ripped off by its own regulatory body and the concessionaires.
MWSS cannot be excluded in the monumental swindle for it attempted to defend the concessionaires amidst threats of water shortage in Metro Manila. The President later divulged to the public that the concessionaires had been collecting billions of pesos from its consumers for a ghost sewerage project. How come MWSS, as a regulatory body, never questioned or halted this?
We are seeing only the tip of the iceberg in the reported took over of some 70 Water Districts by Prime Water. Why the LWUA allowed this to happen is a sorrowful mystery. But take a hint from the directive of Justice Sec. Menardo Guevarra to his USEC Emmeline Aglipay Villar to inhibit from participating in the discussion that pertains to Maynilad, Manila Water and Prime Water. Her husband, according to Guevarra, sits in the board of LWUA which is an attached agency of the Department of Public Works and Highways. I have no issues against Secretary Mark but he is unnecessarily dragged into the vortex of this controversy because of the bureaucratic anomaly.
Water Districts, like DCWD, are bankable institutions for where they operate every one patronizes them and pay for every drop of water they consume. That is why, DCWD need not even put up a single nail as collateral because lending institutions are certain it can settle obligations.
LWUA could have come to the rescue of WDs that are in distress and then provide them with management assistance. I recalled that the Philippine Business for Social Progress even helped source out funds for WDs who needed financial assistance. LWUA also has a wide latitude where to tap cheap money. It was remiss in its mandate.
Too many regulatory bodies with redundant and over-lapping functions were created in the past for political accommodation. Since President Duterte is in the process of implementing reforms especially on the water sector, he might as well consider collapsing all these agencies and place it under a DEPARTMENT OF WATER. And this involves dissolution of LWUA, MWSS, and the National Water Regulatory Board.
Water is life and in the face of threats of nCoV among the important pieces of advice of health authorities is not to get our throats dry. They explained that dry throat is the virtual entry point and spawning ground for the virus that eventually enters the lungs and cause havoc leading to death. The President is absolutely correct. Water should not be considered as a commodity for it is a natural resource. To maintain and sustain the status quo is immoral. To keep these inutile government agencies is insensible. Strengthen the Water Districts by making it viable and the only way to assure this is to create a Department of Water.