Hotel group: We have enough water for guests

CEBU, Philippines - The Hotel, Resort and Restaurant  Association of Cebu yesterday belied reports that guests and tourists were leaving hotels in Lapu-Lapu City because there is no water supply.

HRRAC vice president Carlo Anton Suarez said they received no reports from their members of any such incident.

Suarez, also general manager of Cebu Grand Hotel, said he personally called the members himself to verify this.

“Wala’y guest nga namalhin. There is actually no problem among them. In fact, busy ang tanang hotels and resorts sa Mactan in the whole month of May sa kadaghan sa events, functions and visitors to be catered to,” he said.

He said hotels in the areas are enjoying an average of 80 percent in terms of occupancy rate.

Suarez assured the public that tourists and potential guests in Mactan-based hotels and resorts need not to worry since there is sufficient supply of water for them.

HRRAC has 93 members in Cebu; of that number five hotels and 14 resorts are based in Mactan Island.

A resort staff in one of the hotels of Punta Engaño who requested anonymity also told The FREEMAN water shortage in the area has been a problem for a very long time now, but it is not affecting tourism.

“We have no low (sic) of tourists. Koreans, Japanese and frequent travelers nga mga puti ang mag sige og stay sa hotel,” she said.

She added that their hotel is always fully booked every day.

Low pressure yet

Metropolitan Cebu Water District officials once again appealed to consumers in Lapu-Lapu City for understanding and patience due to the inconvenience experienced following mainline damage caused by heavy equipment used by a private contractor doing road repairs Wednesday night.

Public Affairs department manager Charmaine Rodriguez-Kara explained that the continued low pressure is caused by the sudden bulk of consumption of both residential and commercial clients in that city.

“Nagbahin ang tanan consumers sa available water all at the same time. Dili normal ang usage after the long interruption. Ang assurance nato ani sa distribution division is that tonight (last night) naa’y additional volume of water nga i-supply sa areas,” Kara said.

She said that a relatively long service interruption is expected if a mainline is damaged.

“Dili man gud ta parehas sa kuryente for example nga inig-restore sa power, back to normal dayon. Sa water, gradual ang pag-normalize sa pressure since repair works required closing of valves since welding has to be done to restore the affected pipes.”

Turn-around time for pressure normalization of a 12-inch pipe like the damaged one in Basak, Lapu-Lapu City is about five hours while a smaller pipe takes around two to three hours.

She further said not all service areas are guaranteed 24 hours of water a day, and this includes Punta Engaño whose consumers in both residences and commercial establishments have complained of being severely affected.

“As a matter of policy, we conduct orientation to applicants. We inform them of areas which will have 24 hours and those otherwise. Sadly for some reasons, renters usually are not aware that the areas that they are in do not have round-the-clock water service,” Kara said.

These areas, she added, are those in coastal areas, elevated, interior and at the endpoint of their distribution lines like in the case of Punta Engaño.

“Ato lang i-emphasize nga these areas are supposed to have water tanks to avoid inconvenience especially if consumers are within these areas,” Kara explained.

The contractor that caused the damage has been asked to pay for damages, she added.  — Jessa J. Agua, Grace Melanie Lacamiento with Christell Fatima M. Tudtud/BRP (FREEMAN)