The Villar-owned PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. is facing more scrutiny amid the questionable financial status of its operations in Bacolod City and its poor service in Cadiz City in Negros Occidental.
Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya said PrimeWater is still completing the payment of its outstanding debts with Bacolod Bulk Water Inc. (BBWI), while Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. sought resolution to the almost one month of service disruptions in the northern Negros city.
Gasataya said that on Aug. 8, BBWI chief operations officer Mark Roxas informed him that the failure of PrimeWater Bacolod City to settle its accounts for May and June could force them to shut down the operations of the Sum-ag Water Treatment Plant.
“I asked if he can give me until Monday to talk to officials of PrimeWater and Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa). They committed to settle it. Last night, Baciwa informed me that PrimeWater already paid for the month of May and for June, they are now processing it. For July, the billing statement has just been sent,” the mayor said Aug. 12.
BBWI, through its Granada and Sum-ag treatment plants, supplies 40 percent of PrimeWater Bacolod City’s total capacity, particularly for eight major barangays, including Sum-ag, Cabug, Felisa, Handumanan, Mansilingan, Punta Taytay, Pahanocoy, and Tangub.
Last week, the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod urged PrimeWater to address the numerous complaints on its “dark, smelly, and contaminated water” that affected households in several barangays.
They also urgently requested the water service provider “to provide a full public report identifying the cause of the water quality issues, the barangays and households affected, the immediate safety and remedial measures taken, and the long-term solutions being implemented to prevent this from happening again.”
In a statement Aug. 12, Water Watch Advocates convenor Wennie Sancho called on the SP to “conduct an in-depth investigation into the nonpayment of water supply between PrimeWater and BBWI.”
“It is likely linked to the broader controversy surrounding PrimeWater’s joint venture agreement with Baciwa. There should be a public hearing to make public the water service agreement between the two parties for purposes of transparency and accountability,” he said.
In Cadiz, PrimeWater executives were scheduled to appear before the SP on Tuesday to explain the water supply shortage that has affected about 14,000 consumers.
Escalante said he directed Cadiz City Water District general manager Angelo Vargas to ask PrimeWater to submit a comprehensive plan on how they would address the water supply problem.
“The city government would be left with no choice but to reclaim management and distribution of water services if PrimeWater could no longer serve the consumers of Cadiz. Water is a basic necessity,” the mayor said in a statement. | PNA
