The Bacolod City Council has approved a resolution urging Baciwa-PrimeWater to either reduce proportionately the minimum charges to consumers affected by frequent water shortages or to refrain from collecting the minimum water charge for consumers affected by a month of no water supply.
The resolution was authored by Councilor Vladimir Gonzales, chairperson of the City Council committee on urban poor, housing, and resettlement.
Gonzales also urged Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to represent the City of Bacolod to the Baciwa-PrimeWater in implementing the resolution.
Gonzales said that water means life, therefore without water, humans cannot exist.
He said the City Council has the mandate to provide basic services and facilities to its constituents under the Local Government Code of the Philippines, such as adequate water supply systems.
"Bacolod City today is faced with a water supply crisis, in that most of the service areas of the Baciwa- Primewater are either suffering from frequent water interruptions, poor quality of water, or lack of water supply at all," he added.
Gonzales stressed that despite the situation of the water consumers and the people of Bacolod City in general, the consumers are still being charged with unconscionable water rates, specifically minimum water rate charges of P220 even with the lack of water supply or prolonged water interruptions.
"This continuing burden on the consumers without the necessary water services, constitutes clear violations of the contractual obligation and unjust enrichment on the part of Baciwa-PrimeWater and the deprivation of due process on the part of water consumers, in that they are being deprived of their meager income to pay for the water bills, in lieu of threatened disconnection in case of non-payment," Gonzales said.*