BY RALPH JOHN MIJARES
ROXAS City – Former Metro Roxas Water District (MRWD) general manager Medardo Pestaño denied he approved a P193-million additional loan for expansion projects.
Pestaño told Panay News he in fact found the additional loan “non-viable.”
In a letter addressed to the Board of Directors in November 2004, Pestaño said, he even questioned the projection of the future number of service connections, and inquired if MRWD had enough income to afford implementing improvements without borrowing.
According to Pestaño, being a general manager did not give him any authority to approve or junk any policies made by the Board of Directors.
Pestaño issued the clarification in reaction to a report misquoting former MRWD Board chairperson, Carmen Andrade that he (Pestaño) gave the go-signal for the additional loan.
Andrade confirmed that Pestaño had nothing to do with the loan.
“He had no authority to do it. He was only a manager. Ang nag-sign sang loan was the Board of Directors,” she stressed.
However, she said, the Board had a consultant conduct a feasibility study for the projection.
In an e-mail, Andrade said MRWD had enough income to pay the projected loan of P800 million.
Andrade said the Board had options to either immediately pay the project contractor, J.V. Angeles Construction Corp., or add it to the loan from the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).
The increase in loan was caused by the rise of the dollar’s value against the peso and that MRWD did not have enough money to pay the surplus immediately, according to Andrade.
Andrade also clarified that the whole set of equipment in the water treatment plant in Sitio Paslang, Brgy. Salocon, Panitan, Capiz purchased from US-based F.B. Leopold Company, Inc. did not increase the loan since the rise of the dollar did not affect its price, contrary to what was previously reported.
F.B. Leopold Company, Inc. was chosen because it offered the cheapest price and its equipment had features best suited to the needs of the MRWD, said Andrade.
Pestaño also denied suggesting that MRWD purchase facilities that would enhance water pressure. He stressed that in his open letter, he was asking when would MRWD’s service improve.
MRWD information officer Dante Arcangeles said the Board acquired the original P710-million loan in year 2000 and later added P193 million in 2004.
The whole loan for the MRWD’s expansion and improvement projects included the water district’s transmission and distribution lines, water treatment plant and reservoir, according to current general manager Gonzalo Glen Delgado.
“The purpose of the original loan was for the water supply expansion and improvement projects to improve and expand the water supply system, and to answer the potable water supply needs within Roxas City and neighboring towns,” Arcangeles said./PN
