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[av_heading heading=’MetroPac: No Baciwa takeover’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MAE SINGUAY
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BACOLOD City – The MetroPac Water Investments Corp. said it will not take over the management of the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) if their proposed joint venture project pushes through.
MetroPac offered to rehabilitate Baciwa’s distribution lines within 30 years under a build-operate-transfer scheme.
Business Development Manager Jonet Sanalilas met with the employees’ union officers and General Manager Mario Macatangay on Monday. The company is hoping for a positive feedback.
“This will be a joint venture between our company and Baciwa. We will not take over the management,” Sanalilas clarified.
He said their proposed partnership is similar to what MetroPac has with the Metro Iloilo Water District in Iloilo City.
The Baciwa Employees’ Union and the Utility Consumers Alliance of Negros opposed the proposal. They believe it will lead to the privatization of the water district and expose consumers to profiteering.
Claudio Salmo, the union president, earlier warned the joint venture may cause employee displacement.
But there are workers, especially those who are retiring soon, who favored the possible privatization after learning that MetroPac offered to give “benefits” as much as “200 percent” of their monthly pay per year of service, he said.
Salmo said the union will have an assembly with the management today and hold its own assembly later to assess the proposal.
He admitted that the water district continues to be bugged by problems, especially water supply shortage.
Baciwa has entered into a bulk water supply contract with Mactan Rock Industries, Inc., but the project has not yet started, Salmo said.
He also said they may delay the privatization but cannot stop it since the Board of Directors will have the final say, under the 2013 guidelines of the National Economic and Development Authority./PN
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