There’s a new presiding officer in the Angeles City Council. Former Councilor Amos Rivera will be wielding the gavel for three years. He is the younger brother of my friend Atty. Willie Rivera, a popular and a learned litigation lawyer. He pulled a surprise in the recently concluded local elections. He was the only survivor in his team and defeated Vice Mayor Vicky V. Cabigting. Amos Rivera made a solemn promise to Angeles voters that once elected he will ‘remove the environmental fee’. The environmental fee issue is catching fire even before and after the elections. And since many residents became aware of the added cost to their water bills it became a ‘conflagration’. The Angeles consumers wanted no less but to remove it. The complaints are mounting and the shrill cry is getting louder.
The Angeles constituents are expecting a fulfillment of Amos Rivera’s promise but it is expected to meet an opposition since it is rumored that there are ‘monthly envelopes to some of the councilors’. I am not naming who. It’s up to you to discern. Get a copy of the ordinance. Better still try getting the minutes of the discussions in the city council who sponsored it and who seconded and voted for it. The records will speak for itself. I hope my friend Alex Caugiran who was a former councilor can source all the documents and reveals it to the public to make his stand strong. It can even resurrect his political career.
At this time, the septage issue should be reviewed. This is strongly recommended. Under the Clean Water Act, all households and establishments should subject their septages for desludge by the service provider, which is the EC Soliman. Your septic will be siphoned once every five years, but added cost on per cubic meter of the consumers will be added collectible every month. In the ordinance sponsored by Councilors Alfie Bonifacio, Jesus ‘Jay’ Sangil and Arvin ‘Pogs’ Suller, service providers like PrimeWater, Balibago Waterworks, Calsons and several others were made to collect for EC Soliman.
By the way, There’s money, big money as a matter of fact on water business. No wonder, the Ayalas, Manny Pangilinan, Ricky Razon, Ramon Ang , Pamana of Lucio Co, Prime Water of the Villars and many other small players like Tito Panlilio of Balibago Water Works, Sinukuwan of the the late Fil Del Rosario and Allam Kahil are bidding one another to be service providers of towns and cities. Maybe they calculated that someday the taps will run dry. Climate change maybe the villain here. Throwback: Now it comes to mind the privatization of many water districts in Pampanga. Guagua, San Fernando, Mabalacat City, Porac, Arayat and few other cities and towns which negotiated with the Villar owned Prime Water for their privatization. Though the local boards are saying it’s joint venture to soften public criticism, the unsatisfied customers are saying it is more of a sellout. There must be millions and millions of reasons why the so-called Joint Venture Agreement(JVA). Well, it’s all academic now. It’s water under the bridge, if I may add.