COWD director blames predecessors for mess
By MARK FRANCISCO
ONE of the five directors of the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD) pinned the blame toward his predecessors who sat in the board in 2021 for the current mess.
In an interview over Magnum Radyo on May 2, COWD director Gerry Cano said it was the members of the board that year who insisted to invoke the force majeure provision in their contract with supplier Cagayan de Oro Bulk Water, Inc. (COBI).
“Naa may resolution sa board niadtong 2021 nga dili i-acknowledge ang (COBI’s billed increase),” Cano said.
The increase then was the first of adjustments of rates billed by COBI at P20.57 from P16.60 per cubic meter or a difference of P3.97 then.
The adjustment was supposed to be automatic every three years in their 2017 contract which was implemented a year after.
This was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and citing force majeure, COWD stood by its 2021 resolution and continued unacknowledging to the present the differences in amount billed by COBI.
The result: the debt has now ballooned to P479 million since COBI insisted that COWD did not present proof that they were financially affected due to force majeure.
Cano did not identify his predecessors but according to a COWD document dated January 19, 2021, the following were the government-operated utility’s directors that year: lawyer Mateo Delegencia (now dead) as chairman, Hilly Ann Quiaoit as vice chairman, Concepcion Quiblat as secretary, and Nelia Lee and former Opol, Misamis Oriental mayor Dixon Yasay as members.
COBI subsequently threatened to cut off its supply by May 1 if COWD continued refusing to acknowledge its outstanding balance, forcing Mayor Rolando Uy to declare a state of emergency in the city starting that day.
Acting on this executive order, the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) dispatched its officers at the entrance of Rio Verde Water Consortium, Inc.’s water treatment plant in barangay Indahag for police visibility and to maintain peace and order.
This is part of the contingency plan recommended earlier by Task Force Water and approved by Uy.
Rio Verde Water Consortium, Inc. is the supplier of COBI which means that COWD is already a third-tier consumer.
Earlier that day, the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) claimed that COBI reported to them that Cocpo “took over” the water treatment plant supposedly to “attempt to prevent the shutdown.”
But in a sharply worded press release on May 2, Cocpo dubbed as “baseless, misleading and potentially detrimental” to their office the allegations.
Cocpo stated that they have no jurisdiction inside the plant since its address is not within Cagayan de Oro City already but falls under barangay Pualas, Baungon, Bukidnon.
Cocpo maintained that their officers remained only at the entrance in barangay Indahag which is still within Cagayan de Oro City all throughout.
“Cagayan de Oro City Police Office – your Higalang Pulis – are committed to upholding the rule of law,” the unit stated.
LWUA vowed to investigate the incident.
