BACOLOD City – The city government reconstituted its local water supply and quality monitoring council.
Executive Order (EO) No. 59, signed by Councilor Israel Salanga on Sept. 14, was issued based on the 2014 City Ordinance No. 08-14-668 that created the Bacolod City Water Supply and Quality Monitoring Council which monitors, analyzes, and regulates all sources of water so that they are safe and fit for human consumption.
Salanga signed the EO within the period he was designated as acting mayor of the city from Sept. 13 to 17. Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, and some members of the city council, as well as several department heads, were on official travel abroad to attend the Belt and Road Summit in Hongkong.
The water council is also tasked with developing the parameters, sample frequency, and action plans for corrective and preventive actions consistent with the 2007 Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water.
The said council shall be headed by:
* Chairperson – City Mayor
* Vice Chairperson – City Health Officer
The council will have for its members the following:
* Sangguniang Panlungsod chairpersons of the Committee on Health and Sanitation and the Committee on Energy and Public Utilities
* City Agriculture representative
* Department of Agriculture Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority
* Association of Water Refilling Stations president
* Barangay chairperson on the Committee on Health
* Representative from the academe
* Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA) representative
* City Planning and Development Office representative
* Water Watch Consumers (a people’s organization)
* Environment and Natural Resources Office representative
* Bacolod City Permits and Licensing Division head
* Environment and Management Bureau representative.
Earlier, members of the city council called the attention of BACIWA and the Prime Water Infrastructure Corp. after receiving complaints from resident-consumers about the services the joint venture companies provided.
The water was allegedly tainted with color, mud, and sand particles, while some complained of the unpredictable availability of the water supply./PN
