BF residents fail to submit Maynilad takeover petitions

Mayor Florencio Bernabe expressed disappointment yesterday over the failure of homeowners’ associations of BF Homes Parañaque to submit their respective petitions asking the Maynilad Water Services Inc. to take over water supply and distribution systems in their village despite a series of meetings and continued calls for these petitions.

In an interview with The STAR, he said he is beginning to wonder if residents of the huge subdivision are really serious in their request for adequate and inexpensive water supply.

“Where are your petitions?” Bernabe asked, noting that he has been waiting for the documents for more than a month now since his last dialogue with homeowners’ association presidents and representatives.

BF Homes Parañaque, he explained, is a residential subdivision with more than 40 different enclaves or homeowners’ groups.

So far, only 12 groups have filed petitions for Maynilad to take over water supply and distribution systems in the area because of the developer’s failure to provide them with enough and affordable water.

The rest have not yet submitted any document to the local government, Maynilad, or the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).

“Akala ko ba gusto nila ng tubig (I thought they wanted water)? What’s keeping them?” Bernabe said as he again called on BF Homes homeowners’ associations to act now and take advantage of the support that they are getting from his office, Vice President Noli De Castro, and Malacañang.

Last Sept. 2, members of at least 24 homeowners' groups sat down with Bernabe and Maynilad officials to discuss how the entire takeover process can be hastened, considering that Maynilad water pipelines already exist in the areas of Aguirre, El Grande, and Lopez, which can be used to supply water to some 10,000 households.

Maynilad officials told Bernabe and residents that they need the HLURB’s nod in order to take over the subdivision’s water systems from owner and developer BF Homes Inc.

Vice President De Castro, who chairs the HLURB, was not able to attend the meeting but nevertheless assured Bernabe that he will personally follow up the case with President Arroyo.