THE Metropolitan Cebu Water District has a new chairman of the board of directors.
Miguelito Pato was elected during a special meeting on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, according to a press statement from the MCWD public relations office.
Jodelyn May Seno was elected vice chairperson, while newly appointed board member Ferdinand Pepito, who took oath on Oct. 8 as a new board member, was named board secretary.
Pato’s election followed after former MCWD chairman Jose Daluz III stepped down so he could run for vice mayor of Cebu City in next year’s midterm elections as Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia’s running mate.
Being an engineer and a businessman, Pato represents the business sector of the board; Seno, the women sector; and Pepito, the professional sector.
Pato served as the board’s secretary in August 2022 and was later voted as the board’s vice chairman in 2023.
Meanwhile, Pato said Edgar Donoso will still serve as the MCWD general manager and expressed his confidence in the latter.
Donoso has been serving as MCWD’s general manager since Dec. 16, 2022.
When Daluz stepped down from his position, the MCWD board was left with only two members and could not function due to the lack of quorum. A quorum must be formed with at least three members present for any board meeting to proceed.
Daluz vouched for Pepito, saying the latter was a classmate and is a law partner.
He said Pepito is not new to MCWD since he used to be a consultant for the water district.
Pepito is a former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu chapter and a financial consultant of the Cebu Provincial Government.
Since the MCWD board now only has three members instead of the original five, Daluz said it would be up to the mayor to appoint the three members to fill the vacancies.
Last Oct. 7, Garcia said former councilors Gerardo Carillo and Carlo Maamo were endorsed to his office, following the endorsements of Yvonne Gomos and Pepito. / JPS