Ghosts in Baciwa

We had a series on the secrets of the Bacolod City Water District and we await the reported Senate investigation on the operation of water districts in the country. This inquiry was triggered by the alleged anomalies in Baciwa that involved more than half a billion pesos of project that resulted in nothing, except that the concessionaires in Bacolod keep on paying for the water that never was.

Be that as it may, recent information reports of ghosts afflicting the district. We recall that when the balete (lunok) tree across the Baciwa office was felled there were reports of spirits possessing some employees in Baciwa. They had to call a priest to drive out the demons, but the ghosts that persist in Baciwa are not of the demonic kind but greed.

First there is a report that a goat fell into the water reservoir of Baciwa. Only its carcass was found later. Insider says that this hazard to health was kept out of public knowledge for fear of causing panic among the consumers.

People who can afford to drink bottled water have nothing to worry about their health but think of taking a bath with water contaminated by a dead goat! Would you feel comfortable?

Although the Board of Directors is reportedly conducting an investigation to pinpoint negligence, this matter should not be confined to Baciwa’s internal disciplinary sanctions. The City Health Department should also investigate to determine whether the dead goat’s rotten meat had caused health problems to some people.

The Baciwa board should also determine what measures were taken to safeguard the health of the water users and to institute ways to prevent animals from getting near the reservoir.  If this happened now, it could have happened some days back without the water concessionaries knowing. It is even possible that some people had been stricken ill without knowing why.

There is another ghost that has been hiding in Baciwa that we need to ferret out, because we are paying for the presence of these ghosts.

One ghost involves millions of pesos in collectibles and yet this concessionaire continues to enjoy continued flow of water into their pipes at our expense.

A small concessionaire is usually deprived of water for failure to pay his fees in a week’s time after the due date. And when he pays, he has to fork out penalties and charges and interests plus reconnection.

If a concessionaire owes Baciwa P200 after due date, Baciwa cuts the water supply without notice, but not when the concessionaire owes hundreds of thousands. Call that unfairness, or favoritism, but I think that is injustice against the poor and the powerless.   

A Statement of Account issued on Jan. 7, 2014 was sent to an address in CL Montelibano Avenue to a commercial building for a December bill of P235,860.79.

There was no payment in November 2013 for a billing of P235,327.79. A penalty of P4,125.33 was imposed. So the amount was carried over to December.

Question: Why was the water supply allowed when no payment was made?

There was payment of P4,186 on December 16, 2013 but this was not even enough to cover the penalty of P4,196.03. Again, why was the connection allowed to continue on to January 2014?

Interestingly, there is no due date which indicates that the concessionaire can pay at his pleasure, unlike us ordinary mortals who have to pay on time or get cut from the water supply.

Are the owners close to Baciwa? I have the name of the concessionaire, but let us just focus on the injustice for the moment because indeed the owners are close to the present city government, thus, probably, the special treatment.

Here is another ghost. On Jan. 8, 2014, Baciwa issued a Statement of Account for a whopping P2,035,568.90 that included a penalty of P9,248.16 for non-payment of the November bill that amounted to P2,026.110.74.

Here is another Statement of Account issued on Nov. 16, 2012 covering the payment that dates back to Aug. 22, 2011. There must have been no payment or insufficient payment by this date because the “running balance” has reached P494,180,03.

By the time of the Statement, the unpaid water bill had reached P527,401.79. There is also no due date.

Perhaps, by this time, the concessionaire has already settled this account but what is puzzling is that the concessionaire was paying only an amount not even enough to cover the penalty charge, so that the bill keeps on increasing by the month.

So the question again: why was the connection left untouched?

Are there more ghosts? Yes.*

back to top