The Bacolod City Water District is not under privatization, its general manager Julie Ann Carbon said in reaction to a text message being circulated in Bacolod City yesterday.

Carbon said there is no truth to the text message that the water district will be privatized with Ramon Ang as the proponent and BACIWA director Greg Gasataya as the middle man.

The text messages started circulating after Gasataya was nominated as the vice mayoralty candidate of the Nationalist People’s Coalition in Bacolod.

Carbon said the BACIWA employees are against privatization.

"If there is a move to privatize the water district, I will be the first to know. I have not received a letter of intent or proposal from Ang of San Miguel Brewery," she said.

However, there is a proposal for the reduction of water losses from the Manila Water District and Maynilad and a proposal for bulk water supply from various firms, Carbon said.

But there is no proposal to take over the Board and the management of BACIWA because of the reported privatization, she said, stressing that there is no truth to the reports.

Carbon said they have told the proponents to propose a certain activity for BACIWA but not to fully privatize the water district.

They believe that the present set up, which is as a government- owned and controlled corporation, is a good and efficient one because it is easier for them to coordinate with other government agencies since they are also a government entity, she said.

When asked for his reaction, meanwhile, Gasataya said he does not need to dignify such “wild imagination.”*CGS

back to top