It was indeed a historic occasion at the Social Hall of the Cebu Provincial Capitol to witness the signing of the Joint Investment Agreement between the Province of Cebu led by Gov. Gwen F. Garcia and the Manila Water Consortium led by Fernando Zobel de Ayala of the Ayala Corporation and Gerry Ablaza, Jr. President of Manila Water Consortium. This agreement was an offshoot of the Cebu Provincial Board’s authorizing Gov. Gwen Garcia to sign this agreement in order to roll out the P700 million Carmen Water Project, where the Province of Cebu would pay P124 million as its initial investment.
Being an armchair historian, I see a parallel with this agreement to the creation of the Osmeña Water Works that constructed the Buhisan Dam a hundred years ago. The Buhisan Dam project was done during the American period and it provided Cebu City residents a clean and continuous surface water supply. But decades later, 98 percent of our water needs in Cebu has come from underground water sources.
Our media friends were kinda surprised why the joint signing did not include the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) when in fact its General Manager, Armand Paredes, was present in yesterday’s affair? Well, I personally asked Mr. Paredes about this and he told me that MCWD was not yet involved in this as it is the agreement that would first produce the surface water from Carmen. When it is then piped down to Metro Cebu, then that’s the time MCWD will get involved. During the presscon, Gov. Garcia said, “We hope to enter into a water purchase agreement with MCWD when this project would start.”
My own query to the Governor during the presscon was about continuity given the reality that the 2013 elections is looming and we still live in an era where politics is often destructive. I asked the Governor what assurance can she give that this project would continue beyond her term? Her reply was kind of political when she said, “This is a question asked by many on whether my successor would continue to follow through with the gains of my administration. This is why we are taking extra care as to who will be our One Cebu Party candidate for Governor in the 2013 polls. Our people would know whom they should vote for if they want to continue the gains that we experience during my term.”
Call that a sales campaign pitch, but she’s right on the nail. Choosing someone within her One Cebu Party would mean a continuation of her previous policies. If we get a new governor from a different party, there is a great chance that all these projects could fall apart. The edifice that former Cebu Governor Tingting dela Cerna constructed in Lahug inside the University of the Philippines (UP) campus is an example of such a situation.
I also threw a query to my good friend Gerry Ablaza, Jr. former President of Globe Telecom and now President of the Manila Water Consortium about this “marriage” with the Province of Cebu whether it would last. Gerry pointed out that the Ayala Corporation has a lot of investments in Cebu, starting with the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI), Globe Telecom and the Cebu Holdings, Inc. which means that they are deeply involved in Cebu, hence they are happy to sign this joint agreement with the Province of Cebu because water is an intergenerational project that he expects to last a hundred years or more.
In her opening speech, Gov. Gwen F. Garcia sounded somewhat relieved saying, “What a journey it has been… it took ten long years to bring this project into the signing table. It is a testament to the resilience of all parties who refused to give up so we could bring bulk water to the Metro Cebu area.” Again, Gov. Gwen has made history, let’s hope that this consortium won’t run into more snags so that Cebu can finally have fresh and clean water directly into our homes.
Let me point out that the economic growth of Cebu is connected with our ability to satisfy the water needs of our population. Today we are seeing numerous condominiums rising in many parts of Cebu City, as we have become an attractive investment destination place. Many Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who have some extra money to invest would rather put it in a condo project in Cebu because they know that someday, it would bear fruit.
But all those nice homes, subdivision or condos would be meaningless if Cebu continues with its bad reputation of having a serious water supply problem. Of course let me warn you folks that when the people see that we have solved our water problems, then it would mean that more people would come to live here or invest their money in condo or subdivision projects… then that would once again aggravate our water supply. As they would say, it’s a catch-22 situation.
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Email: vsbobita@mozcom.com