CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Sidelined by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), the general manager of the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD) took back control of the water utility firm on Thursday afternoon, July 18.
Engineer Antonio Young, COWD general manager, also ordered the interim officers designated by LWUA to replace him and COWD board members barred from the upper levels of the water district building.
Young broke his weeks of silence as he reclaimed his office from Fermin Jarales, LWUA’s designated COWD interim general manager for six months, amid cheers from water district workers.
He invoked a legal opinion from the Department of Justice (DOJ) about the LWUA takeover, and the city council’s position against the LWUA intervention as among the bases for his decision to reassume as COWD general manager.
Young had his office, padlocked by Jarales, forced open while his supporters, many of whom came from the workers’ picket lines outside, cheered.
He said the interim officers would no longer have access to the upper floors of the COWD building, and he had the padlock of his office changed to prevent Jarales from entering.
“It is clear that the takeover implemented by the LWUA has no basis,” Young told Rappler on Friday, July 19.
He cited a letter from the Commission on Audit (COA), which, he said, gave him the confidence to assert his position.
On June 28, Young wrote to COA, questioning Jarales’s appointment as a primary signatory for voucher disbursements up to P10 million, which require interim board approval for larger amounts.
COA responded, citing a memorandum circular which provides that “only permanently appointed officials shall be designated as disbursing officers,” among other guidelines pertaining to cash advances.
Rappler sought comments from Jarales, but he has yet to respond as of posting time.
Now what?
Meanwhile, Young said he wanted to return to the negotiating table with Cagayan de Oro Bulk Water Incorporated (COBI), a bulk water supplier controlled by business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan, over a still unresolved debt dispute exceeding P400 million. The corporate dispute was what triggered a series of events, including a brief water supply crisis in the city, which led to the LWUA takeover.
For COBI, the interim officials installed by LWUA still have the authority unless they withdraw from the COWD or are removed by a court.
Roberto Rodrigo, senior legal counsel for Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Water, which controls COBI, said they received a notice from COWD indicating that all correspondence from COBI should now be addressed to Young.
Asked if they would comply, Rodrigo said COBI has no basis to do so, and the firm’s position has been communicated to the COWD.
“The city council resolution they cited is merely a request to the interim board and LWUA to recognize the DOJ opinion. It does not revoke the authority of LWUA or the interim board,” Rodrigo told Rappler on Friday.
He said COBI would remain open to negotiations, but only with the “correct people.”
Before the takeover, COWD and COBI’s dispute was left unresolved despite several meetings, even with LWUA involved. This led to a temporary water supply disconnection in the city on May 14, a crisis that caught the attention of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.. He then directed the provincial water districts regulator to consider a takeover. – Rappler.com