Water crisis in Metro Cebu: Yu blames “weak government, politics”

CEBU, Philippines — Blame it on “weak government and politics.”

This was the reaction of Joel Mari Yu, chairman of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District, on the decision of Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella to terminate all Board of Directors because of consumers’ dissatisfaction on the water district’s service.

Yu, in a statement sent to the media through MCWD spokesperson Charmaine Rodriguez-Kara, admitted there is a water crisis in Cebu but denied the BOD have caused it.

He said the crisis has been brewing for the past 30 years but nothing has been done about it. According to Yu, the crisis was caused primarily by the growing gap between demand and supply.

He explained that there has been unbridled growth in Cebu since the mid ‘90s and the government did nothing to cushion the exponential effects of the economic growth to the demands for water in Metro Cebu.

Yu said that as early as the mid ‘70s, experts from the World Bank, JICA, and USAID had already advised Cebu to tap surface water sources, thru dams, as alternative source of water supply rather than rely on extraction from the aquifer.

“The water crisis today is precisely because of this confluence of events,” said Yu.

Operation Continues

The MCWD assured yesterday that its operation is not affected by the termination of the members of its Board of Directors.

In separate statement, MCWD said the BOD does not share in the executive functions and are not part of the day-to-day operations of the water district.

"MCWD assures the public that it continues to do its best to serve the needs of its consumers especially those affected by the water supply shortage," the statement reads.

The BOD, it explained, sets the direction for major programs like expansion, sourcing and policy making.

On October 15, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella sent termination notices to Yu, Vice Chairman Ralph Sevilla, Secretary Cecilia Jugao-Adlawan, and members Procopio Fernandez and Augustus Pe, Jr.

“It is a fact that the consumers of MCWD have been greatly dissatisfied with its present service. This has prompted local government units, such as the Cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Talisay and the Municipalities of Consolacion, Lilo-an, Compostela, and Cordova, and the Province of Cebu through their respective Sanggunians, to issue Resolutions expressing their dissatisfactions and calls for action on the matter. It is for this widespread dissatisfaction over the services of MCWD that I am constrained to terminate your services as a Director,” the notice reads.

Under the law that created the water district, the city mayor has the authority to appoint or remove the members of the MCWD Board.

More competent?

At the Capitol, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said she respects Labella's decision and, like the mayor, contended that the power to terminate comes with the power to appoint.

"Let's give him a free hand. That is how much I respect him," Garcia said.

She said she is confident that the new BOD members Labella will appoint will not commit the same mistakes that led to the water crisis Cebu is experiencing today.

"The horrifying experience that we are now seeing due to the inept and uncaring attitude of the previous board members will certainly serve as a warning to the new incoming members of the board," Garcia said.

"We are now experiencing a water crisis and I am sure Mayor Ed Labella will choose those that will be totally committed to addressing this grave challenge," she added.

Since MCWD was established, the Province of Cebu has not had any representation at its board despite MCWD sourcing water from local government units under the province like the Luyang River in Carmen town.

Without presuming anything, Garcai said, having a seat in five-member BOD would allow the province to bring the voice of the many households that are dependent on MCWD’s services.

"We will be very happy of course," she said, adding, “I do not want to preempt nor do I want to be presumptuous."

Actions

Back at MCWD, the district has announced it has commissioned a new well in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, described as the first successful result of a partnership with the city government in addressing water shortage.

The well site is one of over 20 areas in Cebu City where MCWD will develop wells to serve areas with inadequate supply.

Located on a lot the city owns, the well has a yield of about 900 cubic meters per day and will improve the supply for consumers along Salinas Drive, as well as parts of Barangays Lahug and Apas, MCWD said.

For over a year now, MCWD has been in talks with local government units, national government agencies, and non-government organizations to develop wells in city or barangay owned lots, school, and church properties.

The development of wells is among MCWD's short-term solutions to the water scarcity in Metro Cebu. Well drilling only takes weeks but the negotiations with lot owners and the drafting of the agreements takes months, it said.

For the long term, it plans to develop the Mananga and Lusaran Dams and open a seawater desalination plant.

At present, MCWD has over 120 wells in its service area. It said it is monitoring the wells regularly to ensure the Groundwater Balance is managed and to protect them from damage from overextraction, saltwater intrusion, and other contaminants.  

Situation

Data from MCWD show that Metro Cebu's groundwater is compromised severely due to unregulated extraction by private well owners, saltwater intrusion, and nitrate contamination.

MCWD said it relies heavily on groundwater sources, which comprises 70 percent of its daily supply. Some 26 percent come from private bulk water suppliers and four percent is from its lone dam, the 107-year old Buhisan Dam.

As of the first week of October 2019, the water district reported an unexpected loss of over 30,000 cubic meters per day due to the effects of the dry spell and the shutdown of plants of its private suppliers due to saltwater intrusion and operational problems.

It said that the water supply shortage in Metro Cebu in the past two months was worse than what was experienced last summer due to the widespread effects of the volume lost from its water sources.  JMO (FREEMAN)