Mabilog to MIWD officials: “Pack your things up and leave your offices”

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City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog told the officials of Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) to pack their things up and leave their offices peacefully for they are not serving their mandates to the people.

Although the bulk water suppliers FLO Water Resources Inc. and Prime Water Ventures restored the supply of water to MIWD this morning, June 16, Mabilog berated the Iloilo City’s sole water utility for its failure in solving the water distribution problem in Iloilo City.

FLO Water decided to start delivering again supply of water after a partial financial settlement between them and the MIWD.

“They are already obsolete. They already reached the end of the road. Why not dissolve their offices and turn over their responsibilities to the Local Government Units (LGUs),” Mabilog said.

Mabilog stressed that he will seek legal basis to close the MIWD and let the city government manage the distribution of water.

“There is no problem with water supplies. The only problem is the distribution of water to the consumers which the MIWD failed to do so. We could not bear anymore having this kind of distribution,” he said.

The mayor said the distribution problem might be solved if the MIWD would leave the distribution management to the city government and other neighboring LGUs dependent to the MIWD.

“We will buy water from them [MIWD]. They will serve as water source but we will do the distribution,” he suggested.

Once handled by the LGU, Mabilog said they will look for a private investor to manage the distribution of water supply in the city.

Only last month, the Flo Water threatened to disconnect water supply to MIWD if they could not settle their P111 million water bill which was left unpaid for 15 months since they started operating in March 2013.

The disconnection was prevented after the MIWD paid the amount of P 5 million through the negotiation of Mabilog and Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr.

The bulk water supply has started delivering bulk water to the consumers of Iloilo City March of last year by delivering a total of 16, 000 cubic meters of bulk water daily instead, of 25, 000 cubic meters.

The bulk water suppliers composed of Flo Water, a contractor of Injection Point No. 1 from water treatment plant in Pototan, Iloilo to Leganes town and its joint venture Prime Water Infrastructure Inc., a contractor of Injection Point No. 2 from Sta. Barbara and Pavia, Iloilo to Jaro district, Iloilo City.(IMT)

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