ILOILO City – With one of their bulk water suppliers not renewing its contract, how will the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) and Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW) meet the water needs of its thousands of subscribers?
Flo Water Resources (Iloilo), Inc., the bulk water supplier, has not decided to renew its contract, according to Amarylis Josephine Castro, officer-in-charge of MIWD’s Office of the General Manager.
Flo Water’s 10-year contract ends effective 11:59 p.m. of May 15, 2022.
Contract negotiations failed, said Engineer Rob Cabiles, chief operating officer of MPIW which is the joint venture of Metro Pacific Water and MIWD for the operation, rehabilitation and maintenance of water distribution and wastewater management facilities of the water district.
The parties could not agree on the pricing of water to be supplied, according to Cabiles.
What’s the immediate effect?
There will be low water pressure to no water at all parts of Iloilo City, the municipality of Leganes, Pavia (barangays Pagsanga-an and Anilao), and parts of Santa Barbara.
To address this, MPIW will be rationing water in 12-hour intervals beginning May 16.
This rotational water supply scheme will be observed “until further notice”, according to MPIW in a press conference held yesterday.
PRICE DISAGREEMENT
Flo Water and its partner Iloilo Prime Water Ventures Corp. supply 30,000 cubic meters of water daily (20,000 for Flo Water and 10,000 for Prime Water) to MPIW’s 19,000 to 20,000 service connections in Pavia, Leganes and Iloilo City.
According to Cabiles, Flo Water sought an increase in the price of water it delivers. It asked for P25 per cubic meter.
Cabiles said this proposed rate is more than double the current per cubic meter price of P11.72.
“We could not agree to such a price (P25 per cubic meter). Our customers will suffer for that very high price of water,” said Cabiles.
According to Cabiles, Flo Water sought a price increase so it could finance the repair of its water lines and develop/improve the banks of a river Pototan, Iloilo where it sources the water it supplies to MPIW.
MIWD made a counter-offer – P13 per cubic meter.
The negotiation fell, said Cabiles.
According to Castro, at Flo Water’s proposed rate, consumers would be paying more than double for their water and “this will not be allowed by the Local Water Utilities Administration.”
Currently, consumers pay P20 per cubic meter for residential water connection and P400 for the first 10 cubic meters for commercial water connection.
These rates were imposed beginning November 2018.
The other water supplier of MIWD-MPIW is the Metro Iloilo Bulk Water Supply Corp. It supplies water to Maasin, Cabatuan, San Miguel and Oton.
Will MIWD-MPIW look for another bulk water supplier?
Castro said they are open to receiving proposals from other interested parties.
WATER RATIONING
MPIW’s 12-hour interval rotational water supply will be from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. in affected areas.
“MIWD and MPIW apologize for the temporary inconvenience…our team is working diligently to minimize the impact of this situation,” they said in a statement.
How long will the rationing last?
MIWD and MPIW did not give a timeline.
As of February 2022, MIWD-MPIEW was serving 45,567 households in Iloilo City and nearby towns (Maasin, Cabatuan, Santa Barbara, Pavia, San Miguel, Oton and Leganes).
Here’s the schedule:
No water in the following areas from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m.:
* Jaro South – Benedicto, Cuartero, Democracia, Desamparados, Dungon B, Dungon A, Fajardo, Javellana, Luna, MD del Pilar, Montinola, Our Lady of Fatima, Lourdes, San Jose, San Pedro, San Vicente, Seminario and Taytay Zone II
* La Paz – Lapuz
* Mandurriao – Diversion Road, Dungon, PHHC, Santa Rosa, Taft North, San Rafael, Q. Abeto, R. Mapa, Tabucan
* City Proper
* Molo – Arevalo
No water in the following areas from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m.
* Pavia – Pangsanga-an and Anilao
* Leganes
* Jaro North – Ungka, Sambag, San Isidro, San Roque, Lopez Jaena, Arguelles, Cuartero, Maria Cristina, Simon Ledesma, Tabuc Suba, Quintin Salas, Cubay, Balabago, tacas, MV Hechanova, Buhang, Camalig, Balantang, Lanit, Tagbac, and Buntatala
Supply window in the following areas from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.:
* Pavia (Pangsanga-an and Anilao)
* Leganes
* Jaro North – Ungka, Sambag, San Isidro, San Roque, Lopez Jaena, Arguelles, Cuartero, Maria Cristina, Simon Ledesma, Tabuc Suba, Quintin Salas, Cubay, balabago, tacas, MV Hechanova, Buhang, Camalig, Balantang, Lanit, Tagbac, and Buntatala
Supply window in the following areas from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m.:
* Jaro South – Benedicto, Cuartero, Democracia, Desamparados, Dungon B. Dungon A, Fajardo, Javellana, Luna, MD del Pilar, Montinola, Our Lady of Fatima, Lourdes, San Jose, San Pedro, San Vicente, Seminario and Taytay Zone II
* Mandurriao – Diversion Road, Dungon, Santa Rosa, Taft North, San Rafael, Q. Abeto, R. Mapa, Tabucan
Supply window in the following areas from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.
* La Paz
* Lapuz
* City Proper
* Molo
* Arevalo/PN
