Deposed board told: Stop being so desperate
CEBU CITY (March 21, 2024) – Mayor Mike Rama has hoped that his appointees in the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) will be able to assume office to put sanity and order in the water district.
Rama expects the interim board that the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) appointed to manage MCWD’s affairs for six months to give way to the directors he appointed late last year.
“I maintain that I wish nga akong gi-appoint na board, and I still maintain that they are still my board and they are the authentic board,” Rama said in Ingna’ng Mayor over Sugboanon Channel today.
Rama said the power to appoint MCWD board members remains part of his mandate under Presidential Decree 198 that a local regional trial court affirmed, resulting in the entry of those he recently fired and replaced.
“Ang-ang naman nga mag-reappoint napud ko,” he added.
On March 15, the LWUA took over MCWD’s board of directors for a period of six months.
LWUA deputy administrator Eileen L. dela Vega oversaw the assumption on March 15 of LWUA officer Maria Rosan Perez and engineers Noel Samonte and Anabelle Gravador serving as members of the interim board.
LWUA administrator Jose Moises Salonga also ordered Jose Daluz III and the other directors to cease and desist from exercising their functions during the period of LWUA’s intervention.
Though Daluz initially heeded Salonga’s order, he and MCWD general manager Edgar Donoso and two directors announced they will not acknowledge LWUA’s interim board and insisted on a “status quo.”
But The Freeman reported today that LWUA cited Donoso for his refusal to recognize the authority of the interim board.
LWUA also accused Donoso and the deposed MCWD directors of “misinformation” when they released a memorandum to the water district’s employees and the public not to recognize the interim board.
Desperate
But Mayor Rama sees the deposed MCWD officials’ latest move as a “desperate effort” to cling into power.
“Gakupot lang gihapon bisan unsa kahait sa suwag sa kutsilyo,” Rama said.
“Iyang hunahuna nga mao nalang nay makuptan. Maypang mokanta sila og ‘My Way’,” he added, referring to the late Frank Sinatra’s famous song.
Gakupot lang gihapon bisan unsa kahait sa suwag sa kutsilyo
Mayor Mike Rama, regarding the refusal of deposed MCWD board members to leave their post
Mayor Rama fired Daluz, Miguelito Pato and Jodelyn May Seno on Aug. 17, and replaced them by Oct. 31 with retired military general Melquiades Feliciano, lawyer Aristotle Batuhan and businessman Nelson Yuvallos.
He also kept in board lawyers Danilo Ortiz and Earl Bonachita.
The discord within MCWD’s leadership has been exacerbated by allegations of financial mismanagement and non-compliance with procurement regulations.
LWUA’s intervention seeks to address these concerns, particularly the high non-revenue water (NRW) loss and controversial water rate increases that have drawn public scrutiny. | PPRMN / jkv
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