Smoke screen

If media reports and claims by a labor group and a legislator are true, then heads should roll at the Metropolitan Waterworks & Sewerage System (MWSS).

Could it be true that the MWSS Board of Trustees and the agency’s administrator Gerardo Esquivel approved the reduction in water rates levied by the two concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad as a costly ploy to win pogi points and to divert attention from the real issues and the real culprits?

The timing of the water rate reduction is perceived to be dubious since the order was released at a time when Esquivel and the MWSS board are being questioned by the MWSS Labor Association (MLA) and lawmakers for a host of fund irregularities uncovered by the Commission on Audit (COA).

It is ironic that while Esquivel and the Board ordered the two water concessionaires to slash water rates because of supposedly questionable pass-on charges to their customers, media reports have revealed that Esquivel and the Board have authorized multi-million peso allowances and perks for themselves and have spent huge amounts for consultants, some of who are leaders of non-government organizations which have been howling about the concession agreement between MWSS and the two water companies. COA has reportedly disallowed these expenses by MWSS on post audit.

Some of these media reports showed that COA disallowed the hiring of these consultants for violation of government rules on hiring and contract procedures. Among the consultants hired by the MWSS are leaders of the Water Watch Coalition (WWC) and Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) which have been at the forefront of the Manila Water and Maynilad bashing over the past few months.

Because of these fund irregularities, the MLA has filed graft charges against Esquivel, while Abakada Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz has called on the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability to investigate these anomalies which include the unauthorized release of bonuses for Esquivel and the Board, hiring of highly-paid consultants who duplicate jobs performed by organic workers, antedating of consultancy contracts, and the holding of multiple board meetings in a single day to circumvent per-diem rules.

Citing COA audit reports, the media has reported that Esquivel and the Board released P74.36 million in unauthorized allowances last year alone, that MWSS exceeded its 2012 budget by P121 million, of which P88.85 million was used to hire consultants who were paid by as much as P50,000 each; and that MWSS officials have padded their take-home pay with P17.03 million in representation and transportation allowances (RATA), P13.1 million more than the allowable amount.

Media reports noted that a staggering 436 consultants have been hired by MWSS since Esquivel took over in 2010, in violation of a government moratorium on the hiring of contractual and casual workers. One of these media reports revealed that these highly-paid consultants include Rodrigo Gatmaitan Jr. of WWC and lawyer Leland Lopez of FDC, two of the NGOs that have been attacking Manila Water and Maynilad on issues like pass-on charges, which are actually allowed by MWSS under their concession agreements.

Meanwhile, Rep. Dela Cruz said in House Resolution no. 297, which seeks a congressional investigation, aside from the excessive bonuses, the MWSS Board has been calling more meetings than necessary, resulting in the accumulation of huge per diems and other perks and privileges including the use of government-owned vehicles for personal use. By scheduling four board meetings per day, each trustee is able to collect P58,000 in allowances per day.

As a result, the trustees were able to collect P136,000 each in monthly allowances at P8,500 per meeting, in violation of the new GOCC law limiting board sessions to four meetings plus one emergency meeting every month.

Meanwhile, the board slashed the meal allowances of employees from the previous P150 per day to a measly P3.

And water consumers now fear that the two concessionaires will now hold back on their investments because of their failure to fully recover their costs for the last five years resulting from the MWSS Board order denying their petition to have a minimal upward adjustment on their rates which currently are not enough to allow the two companies to recover costs, and upholding the recommendation of the MWSS regulatory office to reduce the rates instead.

Conflict of interest?

Finally, the much-awaited revamp at the Bureau of Customs has come into fruition, with 27 district port collectors called back to their mother offices and replaced by the next in rank collectors as OICs, and four new deputy commissioners set to be appointed.

But not everyone seems to be happy about these developments.

The Center for Anti-Graft and Corruption Prevention, led by its president Manuel Matias, has questioned the impending appointment of one of the deputy commissioners for possible conflict of interest.

The group was referring to the nomination of lawyer Agaton Teodoro Uvero as deputy commissioner for Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group (AOCG).

According to documents, Uvero is senior partner of GUS Law Office and appears on record as external counsel for Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. in a case involving alleged misclassification and undervaluation of sugar premixes and high fructose corn syrup valued at around P1 billion imported by the softdrinks manufacturer. The case was reportedly initiated by the Sugar Alliance of the Philippines and the case is up for resolution by the AOCG, the same office to which Uvero will be appointed.

Sources revealed that the case will be handled directly by the AOCG deputy commissioner as executive chairman of a five-man BOC special assessment body tasked to litigate and decide on such cases.

Matias has asked Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Customs commissioner Ruffy Biazon to look into the matter “so as not to spoil the success of the revamp.” Purisima has submitted his list of nominees, which includes Uvero, for deputy commissioner positions at the BOC to the Office of President for approval.

Observers say that Purisima and Uvero may have the best of intentions but any perceived conflict of interest will not be good at this time when the Customs bureau is still reeling from negative public perception, the level of which worsened when no less than President Noynoy Aquino in his recent SONA lambasted the corruption and inefficiency at the BOC.

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