BY EDITH B. COLMO AND MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City – The suspended general manager of Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) has turned the water district’s administration building into a fortress, guarded round the clock by supportive water district employees.
Atty. Juliana Carbon has been staying at the building since Friday when she was handed a 30-day suspension order by the Board of Directors. Employees volunteered to accompany her by shifting schedules.
“We support her. She is protecting the interest of Baciwa and the concessionaires,” said Claudio Salmo, president of the Baciwa Employees Union (BEU).
Salmo said Carbon is being pressured by the Board to agree with the plan to let MIYA, an Israeli company, to handle the water district’s non-revenue water (NRW) project that costs P924 million.
“If MIYA will come in, it means another water rate increase,” Salmo said. “We have already started to reduce the NRW to 32 percent from 47 percent despite no funding support from the Board.”
Carbon, meanwhile, said her suspension was illegal and without due process.
She said it did not have the approval of majority of the Board members.
The Baciwa Board has six members. Carbon said only three decided on her suspension.
Simultaneous with the issuance of Carbon’s suspension order on July 31, Baciwa chairman Lawrence Villanueva issued a memorandum to the head of the water district’s security guards to prevent Carbon from entering the Baciwa premises.
But Security Officer Bernard Malacapay of the Lifeguard Archangels Security Agency received the memo only on August 1. He thus failed to enforce it. Carbon had already secured herself at the administration building.
Carbon hopes that the Local Water Utilities Administration and the Civil Service Commission will resolve her case.
She has decided to hire the legal services of retired Judge Lorna Demonteverde.
“If the Board can harass Carbon, they can also do the same to the Baciwa rank and file anytime without due process,” said Salmo.
In suspending Carbon, the Board cited several reasons, among these were her alleged willful misrepresentation of the Murcia Water District bulk water supply contract with Baciwa; appointment of officers-in-charge, and giving representation and transportation allowance without the approval of the Board; and alleged fraudulent certificate of completion and final acceptance without Board authority, and without the project having been completed as part of the P537-million loan in Phase III.
While Baciwa employees are guarding her 24/7, Carbon assured the public that the water district’s services will continue unhampered.
All managers and key personnel were on duty, she said.
Carbon said she heard that Baciwa’s electricity and water supply will be cut off so that the employees will disperse and leave her./PN
