‘Estrada men’ in LWUA sacked

President Arroyo fired yesterday the chief of the Local Water Utilities Administration and its five-member board of trustees following reports that a former aide of ousted President Joseph Estrada used "spurious papers" to have himself named to the LWUA board.

Mrs. Arroyo has appointed Lorenzo Jamora as LWUA officer-in-charge.

However, former LWUA Administrator Prudencio Reyes Jr. went to court yesterday to ask for a temporary restraining order to prevent Jamora from taking over.

Mrs. Arroyo removed Alejandro Ferreira as LWUA chairman after it was found out that his appointment under the Estrada administration was based on an "erroneous legal opinion" of the Government Corporate Counsel.

Of the five board members, Rolando Ramirez, presidential assistant on appointments/legislative affairs and special concerns under the Estrada administration, was said to have had himself appointed to the LWUA board for five years starting last Jan. 2 with the use of "spurious" documents.

Mrs. Arroyo said Reyes and Ramirez will face administrative and criminal charges.

But Mrs. Arroyo re-appointed to the board Bayani Dato and Solomon Badoy, brother of Justice Anacleto Badoy, chairman of the Sandiganbayan’s third division which is hearing the plunder case against Estrada. – Marichu Villanueva