by Miriam G. Desacada
TACLOBAN CITY- The local Chief Executive of Tacloban, Mayor Aldred Romualdez yesterday declared that the city is in a water crisis, citing the increasing number of complaints from the public about the worsening water supply problem, under the joint venture between Prime Water and the Leyte Metropolitan Water District (LMWD), due to illegal connections.
Hundreds of consumers in the city are complaining every day of lack or absence of water into their faucets, according to reports. This dire situation was even made worse with the sudden imposition by Prime Water of an P8 per cubic meter increase in its consumption rate.
Outside of the main problem of illegal connections, LMWD general manager Ronnie Corneco explained that it is now high time to increase the rate of consumption due to the rising cost of fuel. The last increase was in 2003, he said.
Romualdez disclosed that the water crisis has been mainly due to unrestrained illegal connections. “I’ve already conveyed my disappointment. I am also frustrated. I already told Prime Water and LMWD that there’s a report from the engineers that we are losing 50 percent of our water supply due to illegal connections,” he said.
“There’s already a list of these people and establishments that are illegally connected to the pipelines,” the mayor said, as he expressed surprise why these (illegal connections) have not been cut off or charged in court.
“Imagine, you are losing 50 percent of your supply because of illegal connections (yet nothing has been done about it). I think there’s some powerful or influential people behind this,” said the frustrated mayor in a press conference.
“I am shocked that, all these years, these (illegals) are protected, when they must have been stopped. What’s holding them off (from implementing the law). That should be done immediately and it should have been done yesterday,” said Romualdez.
He said the revelation of rampant illegal connections actually came from the LMWD technical working group itself, which noted that these worsens the leakages due to the five-decades-old pipes. The TWG however reported, on the other hand, that 75 percent of the LMWD pipelines have already been rehabilitated so far.
But authorities noted that the worst thing about this is that illegal connections do not have meters to record the volume of consumption, thus, wasted revenues.
The mayor further said half of these illegal connections benefited many businessmen, hotel establishments and politicians. “I told Prime Water and LMWD to act immediately by cutting off these illegal connections and haul them to court. The city government will help them in this campaign, and I am going to remove the people from their posts, if needed,” he said.
“They must do their job: cut off these illegal connections as this will help much to the poor consumers in the northern part of the city especially. That’s my challenge to them (LMWD and Prime Water) kasi kawawa talaga yung iba dyan na nangangailangan ng tubig,” said the mayor.
Romualdez said: “I already gave my warning to them to shape up, (I told them) you better have to do what you have to do, and I don’t care who will be affected by it. Putulin na at kasohan, in fact my time frame for them is last month pa. I told Mr. Cornejo, tigilan mo na yong warning mo, gawin mo na. the city government is supporting you.”
Romualdez imposed on Prime Water and LMWD a deadline, which is until end of May, to stop with finality the three-decades-old illegal connections. —Miriam G. Desacada