REELECTIONIST Cagayan de Oro City Councilor James Judith slammed the reported decision of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) to extend its six-month intervention of the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD).
In a special report before his colleagues November 11, Judith said he will render assistance to the lawyers of Bantay Tubig Movement on what their next move would be on this latest development.
Bantay Tubig Movement is the petitioner of a pending case before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 38 asking to stop LWUA’s intervention.
From June to the present, the court has not yet decided on the matter and even refused to issue a status quo ante order because of the petitioner’s “failure to show grave and irreparable injury” because of the LWUA takeover.
With the intervention about to wind up this month, COWD interim manager Fermin Jarales hinted that LWUA will decide to extend their intervention.
Jarales pointed out that the extension is needed to continue ironing out COWD’s sound financial state which could not be achieved in mere six months.
But Judith raised alarm, saying that the only reason for the intervention was supposed to be to stabilize COWD’s debt deficit with LWUA and nothing more.
He said he would advise the lawyers of Bantay Tubig Movement to ask the court to cite LWUA in contempt.
