THE failure of the Cagayan de Oro City Water District (COWD) and Rio Verde Water Consortium Inc. (RVWCI) to reach a settlement may lead to the water utility having two bulk water suppliers in the coming months, said COWD assistant general manager Bienvenido Batar Jr.
Batar made the statement after Regional Trial Court Branch 38 Judge Emmanuel Pasal terminated on Monday the joint dispute resolution (JDR) between the COWD and Rio Verde.
"Naay issue na wala na-resolve, so the judge has terminated the JDR because maybe, the judge thought that adequate naman pud ang time na gihatag sa both parties to reach the compromise agreement pero wala gihapon, so the judge decided to terminate it (There is an issue that wasn’t resolved, so the judge terminated the JDR, because maybe the judge thought that there was an adequate time given to both parties to reach the compromise agreement but nothing was done, so the judge decided to terminate it)," Batar said.
Because the JDR was terminated, the trial stage will automatically commence this month.
Batar said the termination of the JDR will not hold or affect the implementation of the MetroPac contract, which is expected to supply water later this month or January next year.
He said because the Rio Verde waived the exclusivity clause of their contract, it is not illegal for COWD to get water supply from MetroPac even though its nullification case with Rio Verde has still no decision.
By the end of the year or early next year, west service area could be served by both MetroPac and Rio Verde.
According to the joint venture agreement, MetroPac is expected to supply 20,000 cubic meter of water while the COWD-Rio Verde contract is still not terminated.
Rio Verde will maintain its 40,000 cubic meter of water supply every day.
"Dili man nuon problema kay duha na nuon ang source, but it will be disadvantageous to the COWD part, because what we really want to achieve is to terminate the contract with Rio Verde because it is disallowed by COA. Every water purchase at Rio Verde, the COA issues disallowance, and we employees will have to pay it," Batar said.
Lawyer James Judith said he and the councilors were elated that the JDR has been terminated, saying the judge can now decide on their motion to intervene, and, hopefully, participate in the court proceedings.
Judith said its position will be to make Rio Verde stay as the COWD bulk water supplier, given its cheap water price, compared to MetroPac's rate.