ILOILO City – Without legal hitches this time, Mayor Jose Espinosa III appointed a director to the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) Board.
Felicito Tiu of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry will replace Josephine Abad Caram as representative of the business sector in the Board.
Caram’s term expires this Dec. 31.
In June, Espinosa asserted his authority to appoint a new set of directors that included Tiu in the MIWD Board. This, however, resulted to him being charged criminally and administratively by the water district management before the Office of the Ombudsman for usurpation of official functions, graft and corrupt, grave abuse of authority, gross negligence, gross misconduct, and acts contrary to law.
In filing the charges, the MIWD management insisted there was no vacancy in the Board yet, Espinosa did not follow the procedures set in making appointments, and that the appointing authority at that time was the governor of Iloilo province and not the mayor of Iloilo City.
This time, there is an impending vacancy and the power to appoint has shifted from the provincial governor to the city mayor because, as MIWD itself certified, majority of the water district’s concessionaires are now in Iloilo City and not in Iloilo Province.
Espinosa, however, viewed his appoint of Tiu differently.
“Kon indi ko mag-appoint ma-technical, sila ang ma-appoint,” he said.
Tiu is also the vice chairperson of the Iloilo City Trade and Investment Promotions Board.
Last week, Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. said he won’t appoint a replacement for Caram in the MIWD Board and said such authority had moved back to the city mayor.
Last month MIWD corporate secretary Atty. Cyril Regalado submitted to both Defensor and Espinosa a list of nominees to replace Caram.
“Diin ka kakita nga duha ang appointing authority? I am the appointing authority,” Espinosa said.
The nominees included Tiu; Angela Abenir from the association of hotels and restaurants; Francis Chung of the Philippine Retailers Association; and Chelen Regalado from the association of bankers.
MIWD directors each has a term of six years. The current directors are Dr. Teodoro Robles (chairman), Atty. Juanito Acanto, Dr. Jessica Salas, Ramon Cua-Locsin, and Caram.
While Caram’s term would expire by the end of this month, those of Robles and Cua-Locsin would expire in 2020 yet. Those of Acanto and Salas, in 2022.
They were all appointed by Defensor.
Aside from Iloilo City, MIWD serves the municipalities of Cabatuan, Leganes, Maasin, Oton, Pavia, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara in Iloilo province./PN
