THE Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) has assured the public that water service delivery to Metro Cebu residents remains stable and uninterrupted, despite ongoing administrative challenges and vacancies in its board of directors.
In a statement sent to SunStar Cebu on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, MCWD said general manager Edgar Donoso and members of the executive committee submitted a comprehensive joint affidavit to the Office of the Ombudsman, responding to each issue raised by the anonymous complainant, who accused Donoso and other executives of corruption, favoritism, mismanagement and misuse of authority. The affidavit was filed following the Ombudsman’s directive requiring the officials to submit sworn counter-affidavits within 10 days.
“As MCWD continues to confront the usual challenges of a public utility, we assure the public that service delivery remains unaffected and that board vacancies are being addressed as required by law,” the statement read.
MCWD added that it remains committed to cooperating fully with the Ombudsman investigation and respects the integrity of its process. It also noted that its officials have complied with all procedural requirements.
The agency also assured consumers that, despite ongoing administrative challenges and leadership issues, water service delivery to Metro Cebu residents remains stable and uninterrupted.
MCWD is currently operating without a fully functional board of directors due to vacancies in the civic and professional sectors, the prolonged inactivity of the education sector representative and the Local Water Utilities Administration’s (LWUA) recent declaration that two seats must be refilled.
This has reduced the board to only two active members — short of the three required for a quorum under Presidential Decree 198.
LWUA confirmed the resignation of civic sector director Danilo Ortiz and invalidated the appointment of professional sector representative John Rey Saavedra due to improper documentation.
Despite this, the remaining members reportedly still held at least four board meetings in November.
Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival has asked MCWD to immediately submit the consolidated list of nominees from civic groups, originally due Nov. 30, and begin the mandated process to restore a complete board. / CAV