THE Bacolod City Council will hold a public hearing with the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) at the Bacolod Government Center today to tackle the proposed joint venture of the water district with the Prime Water Infrastructure Corporation.
Councilor Archie Baribar, chairperson of the committee on energy and public utilities, said they were informed that Baciwa already issued a Notice of Award to Primewater and it’s now pending at the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) for review.
“We will have to address the concern of our consumers because for a very long time Baciwa has not address squarely these issues so we need to address this,” he said.
The convenors of Amlig-Tubig, a multi-sectoral water consumers’ alliance group, earlier urged the Baciwa-Board of Directors (BOD) to have an “inclusive approach” on the proposed joint venture with Prime Water Infrastructure Corporation.
Convenor Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. earlier stressed the inclusion of all water consumers in a public hearing and consultation in all matters regarding the contract to be entered into by Baciwa with Prime Water.
He said the issue at hand now is that the Baciwa Joint Venture Selection Committee (Baciwa-JVSC) approved Resolution 18, recommending to the Baciwa-BOD the operation, development, financing expansion, improvement, rehabilitation, and maintenance of water supply and septage management systems of Baciwa to Prime Water.
He said the next step is for Baciwa-BOD to issue a “Notice to Proceed” and the “contract signing” with Prime Water.
Gamboa pointed out that Baciwa should include the water-consuming public in the discussion of the merits of the Terms of Reference (TOR) and the provisions of the contract with Prime Water through the conduct of several proper public hearings.
Amlig Tubig had earlier manifested an official copy of the TOR after the issuance of a Certificate of Successful Negotiation duly signed by the Baciwa-JVSC and accepted by Prime Water which will now be the basis of discussions.
“It was likewise brought out that for almost a year now, Amlig Tubig’s urging for an inclusive (all must be involved), open and transparent public hearing and consultation to said contract signing process and procedure were met with denials, justifications, and challenges for reason of confidentiality but now that the matter is at its clearest level, that the Prime Water is the winning water private proponent to operate Baciwa therefore, all official documents must be disclosed,” Gamboa said. (MAP)