CLARK FREEPORT—The head of the Angeles City Water District (ACWD) has finally broke his silence amid the swirling controversy sorrounding the management of the city run water supply company.
At a news conference here on Friday, ACWD Chairman Bernie Cruz stressed he won’t hesitate to quit his post, saying he does not need his monthly salary of P7,000 from the water district.
“They want to banish me there? As for me, they could have just told me to please can you just resign. It’s okay with me, I am not that impatient to get a P7,000 salary from the water district. I don’t need that salary from the water district,” an embattled Cruz declared.
He recalled that the controversy started with the supply of bulk water by a private company, the AM Gatbonton Drilling Corp.
“We were summoned [by the city council] and they told us that AM Gatbonton was supplying water to the ACWD without a business permit from the city government. And that started it all,” Cruz said.
“They recommended the stoppage of the supply of AM Gatbonton because it has no business permit and the operation stopped,” he narrated.
Cruz explained that the private company is open in securing a business permit, but they did not allow it to secure such.
He added that other than AM Gatbonton, there are other suppliers of bulk water for the ACWD like Clark Water and the Taguete Waterworks.
“We were summoned and we showed up in one or two hearings, but we were told by our corporate lawyer that we don’t have to attend because we are not really mandated to be there,” Cruz said. Even if we did not show up, there will be no contempt. We went there on our own volition in aid of legislation,” he added.
But Cruz said they were badgered and the environment (in the city council) was hostile and because of the stress, the general manager had to be placed on a pacemaker.
“It was hostile like a court. Hindi [Not] in aid of legislation. What we were looking is for a solution and not to make trouble,” Cruz pointed out.
“We were sent letters asking for our reaction, so I said wala naman kaming ginagawang masama […we didn’t do anything wrong],” he said.
He denied there was conflict of interest with the transaction in a property at Montenegro subdivision.
It happened that the pumping station was located at Montenegro. “Nasa Montenegro ’yung tinayong bomba, but the owner of the subdivision is Tarzan Lazatin who sold it to an Australian. It happened that I have several properties there,” he said.
But Cruz admitted that the lot where AM Gatbonton’s pumping station was located was formerly owned by his daughter who then sold it to a private company, AM Gatbonton. “I have nothing to do with it. If I was the one who sold it to the water district, then there is conflict of interest because I am the chairman. But the transaction was between private to private,” he explained.
Cruz claimed that the ACWD even earned from the transaction with AM Gatbonton since the bulk water that was sold to them was only P10 per cubic meter, which the water district resold at P22 per cubic meter for residential users and P27 per cubic meter for commercial establishments.
Cruz clarified that they are not selling ACWD because it is owned by the government.
Cruz said what they are proposing is a joint venture with Prime Water, which is allowed by law, citing a memorandum from the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Ashley Manabat
He said Prime Water and the Balibago Waterworks gave separate letter of intents “but we cannot entertain both of them because we had to entertain the first proposal before we can entertain the other.”
Cruz reiterated the DILG’s memorandum order for LGUs not to interfere with local water district operations published on January 15, 2019.
DILG Secretary Edwardo Ano also made a remark warning LGUs “not to interfere with the operations of the water districts.”
The DILG said cases will be filed if LGUs “continue to exercise control over local water districts ignoring the mandate of law …local officials should not poke their noses with the operations of local water districts because said water districts are autonomous by themselves.”
The DILG reminded LGUs that “the law states that local water districts are not under the jurisdiction of any political subdivision and would be supervise by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).