Ombion: Water stakeholders are left out

Ombion: Water stakeholders are left out

IN THE battle for retention of government control over Baciwa. This is the reason why the Baciwa union and its small circle of supporters and allies are losing the battle over control of Baciwa to a private capitalist water company, the Prime Waters, owned by the billionaire politicians Villar family.

I have already made my standpoint on the issue in my past articles.

I agree that sustainable water supply is vital to the comprehensive and sustainable growth of Bacolod City, and that the present Baciwa provides water to less than 40 percent only of the water consumers of the city.

But I disagree with the solution of the City Government and the Baciwa board to "sell" the Baciwa to a Prime Waters because simple fact-check tells the contrary.

There are so many reported complaints against Prime Waters on their management systems, operations set up and service performance in other government water districts they have taken over, and they all boil down to still inefficient and lack of water supply and higher water rates per cubic meter.

Employees unions in taken-over water districts tell of stories of privatization and demolition and not joint ventures or whatever the Prime Waters calls it. They lost their union, their security of tenure, and their jobs. Only those who played opportunism with the capitalist company have been taken in.

In general, I still stand that government is in a better position to operate and manage public utilities given its political power, authority, resources and huge pool of experts. It has to rid only of the crooks in its public institutions as in the case of Baciwa. Baciwa has failed to be the effective public service institution it should have been.

Now, what made the story of supposed mass struggles for their rights protection turned into a very defensive and inutile action is due to their narrow political mindset resulting to poor tactics in winning battles.

The battle for the continued government's control of the vital public utility should have been framed and guided by union led water consumers and other stakeholders direct and active participation in the issue. This is the same shortcoming suffered by few other water districts taken over by private capitalist water companies.

Water consumers should have been mobilized to give their stand on the Bacolod water problem that has been turned into a narrow tug of war between the Baciwa Board "selling" the government owned and controlled water corporation to a private company, and the BACIWA employees and union fighting for their own survival.

The water consumers, most of whom are poor, and the other major stakeholders in the water problem, are practically left out, as if they don't matter at all.

The Baciwa board seems to have not initiated or falls short in barangay consultations, mass information and education, local mobilizations, and the city ignored public hearings on the issue. It would look like they are not interested on it after all. Perhaps all they wanted to hear is how much they could get from transacting with the Prime Waters.

The City Government and all its instrumentalities on water and public utilities are no different in form and substance from its protégés in the Baciwa board. They wanted no fight with the Villars who might be their benefactors in 2022.

The Baciwa employees union, the supposed voice also of the water consumers have failed to raise the importance of and link arms with the stakeholders in their own union struggles for survival. Their limited protest actions often confined to the Baciwa office compound, social media and some of their usual circles of friends have failed to attract critical mass.

Barangays, local communities, subdivisions, transport terminals, schools, local churches, haciendas and farms, have hardly known, much less understand, the water issue simply because no one extends hands on them. This could have been the game changer in the battle for Baciwa preservation, but for more than a year, they failed to undertake these actions.

The fate of Prime Waters takeover of Baciwa is now in the hands of the government corporations council, and chances are that they could vow down to the lobby money of this billionaire politicians.

But even then, this is not yet a complete defeat.

The Baciwa employees union could still redeem itself from its failures. The City Government could likewise arise from the occasion by withdrawing support to Baciwa board, hitting on some legal flaws in the venture, issue resolution inviting other groups to offer water services to the city to prevent monopoly by the Prime Waters and cutting down competition, encouraging community-based and owned water generation and distribution systems, and most important, join the struggles of the water consumers against the Prime Waters.

Time to promote and practice mass movement approach to socio-economic problems because other solutions have failed so, and will continue to be so.

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