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AMID calls to stop the P28.78 billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Friday that the project will still push through and that the first of its packages may even be operational in a couple of months.“Ipagpatutuloy po natin yan. We will continue. As we have discussed with the mayor and the governor, we will push through with the project,” Bautista said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the general assembly of the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association on April 19, 2024 at the Fili Hotel, Nustar Cebu. Bautista met with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Thursday night, April 18, and concerns over the CBRT’s implementation were among the things they discussed. “We agreed to help each other, to coordinate with each other, so that we can continue the construction of the Cebu BRT. Posibling magkaroon ng (It’s possible for there to be a) modification,” he added. Bautista also met with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on Friday morning regarding the CBRT project.Rama sued the governor on March 20 for meddling in the Department of Transportation (DOTr) project built in the highly urbanized and independent Cebu City, after Garcia ordered contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. on Feb. 27 to halt CBRT construction activities on Province-owned lots on Osmeña Blvd.She said the construction work potentially violated a Philippine heritage law, as it appeared to be conducted within the buffer zones of heritage zones. In particular, Garcia complained that the large leaf design of the intended Capitol bus station obstructed the view of the pre-war era Provincial Capitol building.Suspend packagesSince the start of the civil works on the CBRT Package 1 in March 2023, delays and controversies have marred the project, the most recent of which was the call of the Cebu City Council at its regular session last Wednesday to suspend the implementation of Packages 2, 3 and 4 of the CBRT project, and to change the route of the project. Last March 25, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) requested the proponent DOTr to submit an Archeological Impact Assessment and development plans for the project for the NCCA’s approval before resuming work on Capitol-owned lots in the area.Bautista said there is a possibility of modifications in the CBRT project, including the redesigning of the bus station. However, he stressed that the modifications must be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), and the project funders, meaning the World Bank and the French Development Agency.No changeBut in a text message on Friday, CBRT project manager Norvin Imbong told SunStar Cebu that the design of the bus station along Osmeña Blvd. in front of the Cebu Capitol Building going to the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda will remain the same due to the difficulty of redesigning it. Imbong added that CBRT implementers are working to comply with the heritage impact assessment, with the DOTr central office already having hired a third-party proponent to formulate the assessment. Bautista, on the other hand, said he will review the call of some local officials to stop the project. “Ang tinatapos lang natin ay (The only thing we are completing is) Package 1, but we will work with them kasi (because) this is a very important project of the Department (of Transportation) as it will benefit the Cebuanos,” Bautista said. “Overall, we are looking for partial operations, siguro mga (maybe in) June of this year,” he added. The CBRT, a priority project of the Marcos Jr. administration, has a budget allocation of P28.78 billion. It spans 35.28 kilometers.The project, first intended to be completed in 2025 but moved to 2027, is divided into four packages. Package 1 covers the route from Osmeña Boulevard to the South Bus Terminal (2.38 kilometers); Package 2, route from the South Road Properties (SRP), Barangay Mambaling, and Escario St., Capitol, and Gorordo Ave. (10.8 km); Package 3, routes from the Cebu IT Park to Barangay Talamban and from the SRP to Talisay City. Package 4 will feature a dedicated lane from barangays Bulacao to Mambaling, extension of the alignment from Ayala to Cebu IT Park, a rotunda underneath the Mambaling flyover, and the conversion of a mixed traffic lane along the coastal road at the SRP and F. Vestil St.The CBRT project is expected to cater to 60,000 passengers daily in its first year of operation, and up to 160,000 passengers once fully operational, according to the DOTr. Trial runMajority of the members of the Cebu City Council once again called to suspend the civil works of the second to fourth packages of the CBRT, but this time, only for six months while a trial run for the Barangay Bulacao to Ayala route is conducted.Last February, the Council had called for the suspension of the remaining packages, without indicating the duration for the suspension, saying only that the suspension should be undertaken to give time to observe the Package 1 operations to help determine if the CBRT really works, as well as to address the challenges to acquire the lots needed for the succeeding CBRT packages.The Council also unanimously agreed Wednesday, April 17, to request Mayor Rama to convene a CBRT Technical Working Group to discuss the option of a City-operated trial run of a CBRT route from Bulacao to Ayala while the three remaining packages of the CBRT are suspended.But the proposed trial run did not sit well with some councilors, who said a TWG study must be done before conducting the trial run.Fix the projectCebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, who chairs the committee on transportation and who has been a critic of the CBRT project, said in his privilege speech on Wednesday that there is still a chance to fix the mass transport system project through the steps presented by mass transportation expert and consultant Rene Santiago.Cuenco said that according to Santigao, there could be three ways the CBRT project could proceed with the suspension of the remaining packages after the completion of Package 1: Conduct a dry run for the Bulacao to Ayala route; have exclusive bus lanes but no re-paving of roads, and just use temporary cost-effective bus stations; and for the Cebu City Government to take over with the Neda and the DOTr observing.“That is why I have presented my speech not to counter-argue, but to clarify. By coming together with open minds, we can chart a path forward that will ensure that this project is implemented not as a reckless battle but as a strategic operation,” said Cuenco.But Councilor Nestor Archival questioned the proposal, saying that during the executive session last April 3 where Santiago was present, he was not able to answer how he intended to perform his suggestions.“During the executive session, he was telling us that he can do that within six months, but he can’t prove it. He can’t tell us how,” said Archival.Cuenco said he met with Santiago after the executive session and the traffic expert told him what steps to be taken for the project within six months, but he can’t reveal these yet “because the Department of Transportation might copy.”Archival, in response, said he preferred convening the TWG first and have it conduct a study immediately and give a report to the Council on the feasibility of a trial run.These concerns prompted Archival not to vote for the measures presented by Cuenco.Other members of the minority bloc, Councilors Joy Augustus Young, Mary Ann de los Santos and Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa, also voted no to the measures presented by Cuenco.Association of Barangay Councils president Franklyn Ong, meanwhile, abstained from voting, saying his concerns on who will operate the CBRT and what type of buses traverse the CBRT route remained unanswered by the transportation agency.Wrong routeIn his privilege speech, Cuenco also said that during an executive session on April 3, 2024, engineers Santiago and Nigel Paul Villarete suggested that Package 1 of the CBRT project could have been implemented elsewhere instead of Osmeña Boulevard. Their reasons included the short distance of the CBRT route from the South Bus Terminal to the Capitol, the presence of numerous crosswalks along the route, and the possibility of simpler BRT station designs to save time and money. They said the current BRT routes primarily connect commercial centers like the Ayala mall and Cebu IT Park, rather than residential areas as originally intended. They also questioned the request for a depot in SRP, which they argued was not aligned with the BRT’s original purpose. Instead, they proposed considering an alternative route via Fuente to Gen. Maxilom Ave. if the public prefers avoiding Capitol, while maintaining the start and end points in Barangays Bulacao and Talamban. The session concluded that there is no reason not to suspend Packages 2 and 3 while exploring the possibility of streamlining the route to a direct path from Bulacao to Ayala or Talamban.MisconceptionsCuenco also responded to former mayor Tomas Osmeña’s warning of a possible blacklisting by donor nations if the CBRT project were to be halted, by saying that the cancellation of foreign state loans for large-scale projects has not always resulted in negative repercussions. He said in 2016, a $300 million e-trike project loan from the Asian Development Bank was canceled due to lack of buyers and high manufacturing costs. He added that in 2022, a $64.6 million loan for the BRT Line 1 project from Quezon Ave. to España Blvd. was canceled by agreement between the government and the World Bank. He also said that in 2023, a $172 million loan from South Korea for the proposed New Cebu International Container Port expired with the project only one percent complete. In too deep Cuenco said another misconception is that the CBRT project has progressed too far and a significant portion of its loan has been spent, making it impossible to halt. However, he said during their session, that the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Cebu City’s Lot Acquisition Committee revealed that only half of the project’s budget is allocated for land acquisition. He said no letter-offers had been served to lot owners yet, so half of the project budget remains unspent, with only time being wasted. Online Casinos in the Philippines Philippines IN THE continuing struggle for control over the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA)-installed officer-in-charge (OIC), John Dx Lapid, was barred from entering the MCWD office building in downtown Cebu City on Monday morning, while on the same day Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and seven mayors expressed their support for the MCWD officials who had been suspended by the LWUA.Lapid was able to enter only after general manger Edgar Donoso, the person whom Lapid was supposed to replace, issued a memorandum at 12:32 p.m. allowing Lapid to enter and to report to his post as division manager for customer care, but not as OIC.Lapid had been outside the MCWD building since 5:59 a.m. Lapid said the LWUA had instructed him not to leave the entrance of the basement parking of the MCWD building.Upon hearing of his plight, Cebu City Administrator Collin Rosell, along with City Budget Officer Jerone Castillo and City Legal Officer Carlo Vincent Gimena, arrived at the MCWD office to support Lapid in his appointment as OIC general manager.The LWUA appointed Lapid following its suspension of Donoso for 90 days last Friday, April 12. When Lapid finally entered the MCWD building, he called for a general assembly on the eighth floor. But only a few employees showed up.Lapid and the city officials went to the fifth floor to Donoso’s office, where a short confrontation occurred.MCWD secretary Jodelyn May Seno asked Rosell and Castillo to leave because they were city employees. The two ignored her, arguing that she had already been suspended by the LWUA.Members of the interim board installed by LWUA also arrived during the confrontation.Also present were Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) head Harold Alcontin and Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office head Reymarr Hijara.At least 90 personnel from Task Force Kasaligan, along with CCDRRMO personnel, were deployed outside and inside the MCWD building.No entryDuring a press conference on Monday, MCWD chairman Jose Daluz III said they drafted a resolution barring Lapid and the interim board from the MCWD building.He said it was similar to the resolution Lapid started drafting to ban him, Donoso and the rest of his board, meaning Miguelito Pato and Seno, from entering.Daluz reiterated that the LWUA’s March 15 intervention that saw him, Pato and Seno suspended for six months, was illegal, arguing that it could only intervene if the MCWD defaulted financially on its loan, which it did not.“We only owe (LWUA) P13 million. We pay P65,000 every month, non-bearing interest. And we pay in advance,” he said in Cebuano.Daluz said the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel’s (OGCC) opinion regarding the LWUA’s actions was clear that LWUA could only intervene if there was a loan default. He said the LWUA did not abide by the OGCC’s opinion, as it had earlier promised.ResignDaluz also encouraged Lapid to resign from his post to show “decency,” saying that his acceptance of the OIC position was an act of “insubordination” towards his bosses.“I won’t resign,” Lapid responded.Lapid said he is a regular employee of the water district, adding that if they give him a show cause order he will answer it.He said if they fire him, then he will see what will happen.“I am not afraid because I firmly stand by my conviction that the LWUA has jurisdiction over a water district, not just MCWD, but all water districts,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.Lapid said the LWUA’s suspension of Donoso and the Daluz-led board was part of the due process.“Nibarog ta for the water district para mahuman ni tanan problema (I stood up for the water district so all these problems would end),” he said, referring to the struggle for control of MCWD.Donoso said he did not receive a copy of his suspension order.He also questioned why he was not afforded due time to explain his side.Donoso said the respect and hospitality they gave to LWUA have reached their limits.He reiterated that the LWUA’s takeover was unfounded and without due process.Employees, mayors back DaluzMeanwhile, Sammy Suson, president of the MCWD employees’ union with 583 members, said they do not support Lapid’s appointment as OIC general manager.“We will not recognize the intervention of the LWUA,” Suson said.Daniel Lim Jr., president of the non-regular employees’ union with 100 members, echoed his sentiment.Some local chief executives in Metro Cebu also expressed their support for the Daluz-led board and Donoso.Daluz, Donoso, Seno and suspended board vice chairman Pato met with Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado, Compostela Mayor Felijur Quiño, Cordova Mayor Cesar Suan, Liloan Mayor Aljew Frasco, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia at the Capitol on Monday.During a press conference at the Capitol, the governor said the LWUA’s intervention was untimely, creating confusion among employees and consumers as the province faces the effects of the El Niño phenomenon. She said she had brokered an agreement between both parties that they must adhere to the legal opinion of the OGCC, which was released last April 2. Garcia said the LWUA misinterpreted the OGCC’s opinion in its favor, and pushed through with its partial intervention. She said if LWUA insists on interfering in the local water district, she may be forced to invoke Section 16 of Republic Act 7162, or the “General Welfare” clause of the Local Government Code, to ensure the status quo at the MCWD.“I may call on government agency or uniformed personnel to see to it that the General Welfare Board of the constituent of Cebu will be upheld and law will be upheld because all of us took a solemn oath to that,” Garcia said. The mayors backed Garcia’s statement, arguing that changing the administration of a government agency that serves water during a dry spell was unnecessary. The MCWD’s franchise area includes the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay, and the municipalities of Consolacion, Compostela, Cordova and Liloan. The mayors also condemned LWUA’s partial intervention as unlawful due to its invalid reasons and not following the OGCC opinion. Members of the Provincial Board (PB) and Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, were also at the meeting to support the Daluz-led board and Donoso.Garcia said the PB will pass a resolution to support the mayors’ plea. The LWUA suspended Daluz, Pato and Seno for six months starting March 15, to give way for its investigation on several issues at the MCWD. It suspended Donoso last April 12 for 90 days for continuing to defy the interim board’s request to turn over documents on MCWD’s transactions and failing to respond to a five-day notice to explain his decision. Gwen vs. RamaThis is not the first time that the governor has backed officials and agencies that are at odds with the Cebu City Government.Garcia also supported the Cebu Port Authority, and called out the City for ignoring the port authority’s territorial jurisdiction.Earlier in the year, she and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama also disagreed on the implementation of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit project, which resulted in the mayor filing an administrative case against Garcia for “meddling” in the city’s project.Garcia had issued a cease and desist order against the contractor to stop the construction of a bus station near the Capitol building due to lack of a permit related to heritage zones.As for the conflict at the MCWD, it started when Rama fired the Daluz-led board. Daluz had said he would opt to wait for the LWUA’s intervention on the matter and abide by the agency’s order. But last March 15, when the LWUA informed Daluz and Donoso that it would intervene in the water district for six months and appoint an interim board to replace the Daluz-led board, Donoso wrote the OGCC for its opinion on the matter. When the OGCC released its opinion, the LWUA and Daluz interpreted it differently in their favor. LWUA speaks outIn a statement late Monday, LWUA Administrator Jose Moises Salonga said that although the OGCC’s opinion cited Section 61 of Presidential Decree 198 (Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973), which talks of default in terms of payment of the principal or interest on a loan, the same section also provides that “default includes ‘other obligations to the Administration’ as another ground independent from the financial provisions.”“The 2015 Financial Assistance Contract (FAC) memorializes those obligations both financial and technical. In fact, that very document notes that any failure to deliver or comply with any obligation, promise or covenant is a situation of breach and default. Thus, for Mr. Daluz and company to claim that default ONLY pertains to loans is merely their own interpretation that they are desperately peddling to the public, and we fear, to the governor and mayors,” Salonga said.“The default on the part of MCWD pertains to its obligations under the FAC between MCWD and LWUA, wherein MCWD committed to perform the following:1. To comply with the provisions of PD 198 or other amendatory decrees, acts, or laws, and the rules, regulations, and standards established by LWUA. 2. To establish a leakage control program. within one year from the date of the FAC. Said program will identify the principal causes of water losses in MCWD, identify its precise location, and establish a priority schedule to minimize such losses. The leakage control program will establish and systematically maintain a record of its transmission and distribution systems and will develop procedures for the regular inspection and repair of distribution mains and service connections to achieve a water loss position that is satisfactory to LWUA. 3. To consult LWUA before it appoints or makes permanent its General Manager, whose appointment shall be subject to confirmation of LWUA. “The above violations constitute default on the part of MCWD under the 2015 FAC.”Furthermore, he said MCWD had a high NRW (non-revenue water), which had no marked improvement from year 2020 to 2022. The consistent rise in its NRW during this period resulted in an annual loss on revenue by an average of at least P117.759 million. “MCWD’s NRW steadily increased from 20.34 million cu.m. in 2020 (with a 25.26 percent NRW), to 24.542 million cu.m in 2021 (29.04 percent NRW), and 29.481 million cu. m in 2022 (32.67 percent NRW)” when, in fact, Salonga said, MCWD had committed to a 15 percent NRW rate for 2023, which it failed to achieve. From the FAC signing, MCWD has yet to come up with the measures, plans and results it had committed in the deal, Salonga said.BankruptAnother reason for the LWUA action of suspending the Daluz-led board is that “at the rate the procurement is going, at the prices they are contracting, LWUA fears that MCWD as a GOCC (government owned and controlled corporation) is going to go bankrupt soon.”The FAC also gives LWUA multiple options to address the violations of MCWD. “The preventive suspension of the members of the MCWD board was a tame response on the part of LWUA and merely a preliminary step to investigate the violations of the FAC,” he said. Due processSalonga said due process was complied with, as it provided the suspended MCWD board multiple opportunities to respond to the violations “through the issuances of the show cause order and final demand letter dated 20 March 2024, and 03 April 2024, respectively. The suspended MCWD failed to respond, and thereby deemed to have waived their right to be heard prior to the remedial actions of LWUA.”He said LWUA is performing its mandate under PD 198 by implementing the FAC to ensure the prudent use of public funds and the provision of basic services to the people. He asked the local chief executives of Cebu to reconsider their position “upon a careful study of the full state of facts.”“At this time where El Niño is present and no infrastructure work can be done due to strained political and community relations, there is no reason why LWUA should not act in the most expedient manner,” Salonga said. / EHP, AML, JJL, CTL

IN THE continuing struggle for control over the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA)-installed officer-in-charge (OIC), John Dx Lapid, was barred from entering the MCWD office building in downtown Cebu City on Monday morning, while on the same day Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and seven mayors expressed their support for the MCWD officials who had been suspended by the LWUA.Lapid was able to enter only after general manger Edgar Donoso, the person whom Lapid was supposed to replace, issued a memorandum at 12:32 p.m. allowing Lapid to enter and to report to his post as division manager for customer care, but not as OIC.Lapid had been outside the MCWD building since 5:59 a.m. Lapid said the LWUA had instructed him not to leave the entrance of the basement parking of the MCWD building.Upon hearing of his plight, Cebu City Administrator Collin Rosell, along with City Budget Officer Jerone Castillo and City Legal Officer Carlo Vincent Gimena, arrived at the MCWD office to support Lapid in his appointment as OIC general manager.The LWUA appointed Lapid following its suspension of Donoso for 90 days last Friday, April 12. When Lapid finally entered the MCWD building, he called for a general assembly on the eighth floor. But only a few employees showed up.Lapid and the city officials went to the fifth floor to Donoso’s office, where a short confrontation occurred.MCWD secretary Jodelyn May Seno asked Rosell and Castillo to leave because they were city employees. The two ignored her, arguing that she had already been suspended by the LWUA.Members of the interim board installed by LWUA also arrived during the confrontation.Also present were Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) head Harold Alcontin and Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office head Reymarr Hijara.At least 90 personnel from Task Force Kasaligan, along with CCDRRMO personnel, were deployed outside and inside the MCWD building.No entryDuring a press conference on Monday, MCWD chairman Jose Daluz III said they drafted a resolution barring Lapid and the interim board from the MCWD building.He said it was similar to the resolution Lapid started drafting to ban him, Donoso and the rest of his board, meaning Miguelito Pato and Seno, from entering.Daluz reiterated that the LWUA’s March 15 intervention that saw him, Pato and Seno suspended for six months, was illegal, arguing that it could only intervene if the MCWD defaulted financially on its loan, which it did not.“We only owe (LWUA) P13 million. We pay P65,000 every month, non-bearing interest. And we pay in advance,” he said in Cebuano.Daluz said the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel’s (OGCC) opinion regarding the LWUA’s actions was clear that LWUA could only intervene if there was a loan default. He said the LWUA did not abide by the OGCC’s opinion, as it had earlier promised.ResignDaluz also encouraged Lapid to resign from his post to show “decency,” saying that his acceptance of the OIC position was an act of “insubordination” towards his bosses.“I won’t resign,” Lapid responded.Lapid said he is a regular employee of the water district, adding that if they give him a show cause order he will answer it.He said if they fire him, then he will see what will happen.“I am not afraid because I firmly stand by my conviction that the LWUA has jurisdiction over a water district, not just MCWD, but all water districts,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.Lapid said the LWUA’s suspension of Donoso and the Daluz-led board was part of the due process.“Nibarog ta for the water district para mahuman ni tanan problema (I stood up for the water district so all these problems would end),” he said, referring to the struggle for control of MCWD.Donoso said he did not receive a copy of his suspension order.He also questioned why he was not afforded due time to explain his side.Donoso said the respect and hospitality they gave to LWUA have reached their limits.He reiterated that the LWUA’s takeover was unfounded and without due process.Employees, mayors back DaluzMeanwhile, Sammy Suson, president of the MCWD employees’ union with 583 members, said they do not support Lapid’s appointment as OIC general manager.“We will not recognize the intervention of the LWUA,” Suson said.Daniel Lim Jr., president of the non-regular employees’ union with 100 members, echoed his sentiment.Some local chief executives in Metro Cebu also expressed their support for the Daluz-led board and Donoso.Daluz, Donoso, Seno and suspended board vice chairman Pato met with Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado, Compostela Mayor Felijur Quiño, Cordova Mayor Cesar Suan, Liloan Mayor Aljew Frasco, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia at the Capitol on Monday.During a press conference at the Capitol, the governor said the LWUA’s intervention was untimely, creating confusion among employees and consumers as the province faces the effects of the El Niño phenomenon. She said she had brokered an agreement between both parties that they must adhere to the legal opinion of the OGCC, which was released last April 2. Garcia said the LWUA misinterpreted the OGCC’s opinion in its favor, and pushed through with its partial intervention. She said if LWUA insists on interfering in the local water district, she may be forced to invoke Section 16 of Republic Act 7162, or the “General Welfare” clause of the Local Government Code, to ensure the status quo at the MCWD.“I may call on government agency or uniformed personnel to see to it that the General Welfare Board of the constituent of Cebu will be upheld and law will be upheld because all of us took a solemn oath to that,” Garcia said. The mayors backed Garcia’s statement, arguing that changing the administration of a government agency that serves water during a dry spell was unnecessary. The MCWD’s franchise area includes the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay, and the municipalities of Consolacion, Compostela, Cordova and Liloan. The mayors also condemned LWUA’s partial intervention as unlawful due to its invalid reasons and not following the OGCC opinion. Members of the Provincial Board (PB) and Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, were also at the meeting to support the Daluz-led board and Donoso.Garcia said the PB will pass a resolution to support the mayors’ plea. The LWUA suspended Daluz, Pato and Seno for six months starting March 15, to give way for its investigation on several issues at the MCWD. It suspended Donoso last April 12 for 90 days for continuing to defy the interim board’s request to turn over documents on MCWD’s transactions and failing to respond to a five-day notice to explain his decision. Gwen vs. RamaThis is not the first time that the governor has backed officials and agencies that are at odds with the Cebu City Government.Garcia also supported the Cebu Port Authority, and called out the City for ignoring the port authority’s territorial jurisdiction.Earlier in the year, she and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama also disagreed on the implementation of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit project, which resulted in the mayor filing an administrative case against Garcia for “meddling” in the city’s project.Garcia had issued a cease and desist order against the contractor to stop the construction of a bus station near the Capitol building due to lack of a permit related to heritage zones.As for the conflict at the MCWD, it started when Rama fired the Daluz-led board. Daluz had said he would opt to wait for the LWUA’s intervention on the matter and abide by the agency’s order. But last March 15, when the LWUA informed Daluz and Donoso that it would intervene in the water district for six months and appoint an interim board to replace the Daluz-led board, Donoso wrote the OGCC for its opinion on the matter. When the OGCC released its opinion, the LWUA and Daluz interpreted it differently in their favor. LWUA speaks outIn a statement late Monday, LWUA Administrator Jose Moises Salonga said that although the OGCC’s opinion cited Section 61 of Presidential Decree 198 (Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973), which talks of default in terms of payment of the principal or interest on a loan, the same section also provides that “default includes ‘other obligations to the Administration’ as another ground independent from the financial provisions.”“The 2015 Financial Assistance Contract (FAC) memorializes those obligations both financial and technical. In fact, that very document notes that any failure to deliver or comply with any obligation, promise or covenant is a situation of breach and default. Thus, for Mr. Daluz and company to claim that default ONLY pertains to loans is merely their own interpretation that they are desperately peddling to the public, and we fear, to the governor and mayors,” Salonga said.“The default on the part of MCWD pertains to its obligations under the FAC between MCWD and LWUA, wherein MCWD committed to perform the following:1. To comply with the provisions of PD 198 or other amendatory decrees, acts, or laws, and the rules, regulations, and standards established by LWUA. 2. To establish a leakage control program. within one year from the date of the FAC. Said program will identify the principal causes of water losses in MCWD, identify its precise location, and establish a priority schedule to minimize such losses. The leakage control program will establish and systematically maintain a record of its transmission and distribution systems and will develop procedures for the regular inspection and repair of distribution mains and service connections to achieve a water loss position that is satisfactory to LWUA. 3. To consult LWUA before it appoints or makes permanent its General Manager, whose appointment shall be subject to confirmation of LWUA. “The above violations constitute default on the part of MCWD under the 2015 FAC.”Furthermore, he said MCWD had a high NRW (non-revenue water), which had no marked improvement from year 2020 to 2022. The consistent rise in its NRW during this period resulted in an annual loss on revenue by an average of at least P117.759 million. “MCWD’s NRW steadily increased from 20.34 million cu.m. in 2020 (with a 25.26 percent NRW), to 24.542 million cu.m in 2021 (29.04 percent NRW), and 29.481 million cu. m in 2022 (32.67 percent NRW)” when, in fact, Salonga said, MCWD had committed to a 15 percent NRW rate for 2023, which it failed to achieve. From the FAC signing, MCWD has yet to come up with the measures, plans and results it had committed in the deal, Salonga said.BankruptAnother reason for the LWUA action of suspending the Daluz-led board is that “at the rate the procurement is going, at the prices they are contracting, LWUA fears that MCWD as a GOCC (government owned and controlled corporation) is going to go bankrupt soon.”The FAC also gives LWUA multiple options to address the violations of MCWD. “The preventive suspension of the members of the MCWD board was a tame response on the part of LWUA and merely a preliminary step to investigate the violations of the FAC,” he said. Due processSalonga said due process was complied with, as it provided the suspended MCWD board multiple opportunities to respond to the violations “through the issuances of the show cause order and final demand letter dated 20 March 2024, and 03 April 2024, respectively. The suspended MCWD failed to respond, and thereby deemed to have waived their right to be heard prior to the remedial actions of LWUA.”He said LWUA is performing its mandate under PD 198 by implementing the FAC to ensure the prudent use of public funds and the provision of basic services to the people. He asked the local chief executives of Cebu to reconsider their position “upon a careful study of the full state of facts.”“At this time where El Niño is present and no infrastructure work can be done due to strained political and community relations, there is no reason why LWUA should not act in the most expedient manner,” Salonga said. / EHP, AML, JJL, CTL Lisensiyang Pampahintulot sa Paghuhusga sa Pilipinas THE House of Representatives approved on third and final reading Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7, which contains its own version of the proposed amendments to the Constitution’s restrictive economic provisions.A total of 288 members of the lower chamber of Congress voted in favor RBH No. 7, while eight voted no and two abstention.RBH No. 7 was principally authored by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Third District Representative Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker and Quezon Representative David Suarez, Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Representative Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, and other House leaders.It is a clone of RBH No. 6, filed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Juan Edgardo Angara and Loren Legarda in the Senate.Both RBH No. 6 and 7 seek to amend Articles 12, 14 and 16 of the Constitution, or the provision on public services, education and advertising industry through the insertion of the phrase, “unless otherwise provided by law.” It aims to empower Congress to lift or relax present economic restrictions in the nation’s basic law, and the addition of the qualifier “basic” to Paragraph 2, Section 4 of Article XIV, which requires educational institutions to be owned 60-40 rule or at least 60 percent should be owned by a Filipino citizen or corporation and the rest by the foreign investor. This means that ownership of basic education facilities would remain to Filipinos, while higher education facilities would be open to full foreign ownership.Romualdez maintained that these amendments are the “last piece in the puzzle of investment measures” in order for the country “to sustain our economic growth, create more job and income opportunities, and in general, make life better for Filipinos.”“These changes, if ratified by our people in a plebiscite, will greatly boost these measures, including our President’s investment missions abroad which have generated actual investments and pledges in the billions of dollars and created thousands of jobs,” he said.He said it will send a strong signal to the international community especially foreign investors that the country is now fully open for business.“We heard the wise counsel and suggestions of the resource persons and experts we invited to our hearings. We assure the business community and our people that we are working on the other factors that affect investments, like ease of doing business, the high cost of electricity, infrastructure, and similar issues,” he added.Romualdez called on the Senate to pass RBH No. 6 soon. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)

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THE House of Representatives approved on third and final reading Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7, which contains its own version of the proposed amendments to the Constitution’s restrictive economic provisions.A total of 288 members of the lower chamber of Congress voted in favor RBH No. 7, while eight voted no and two abstention.RBH No. 7 was principally authored by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Third District Representative Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker and Quezon Representative David Suarez, Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Representative Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, and other House leaders.It is a clone of RBH No. 6, filed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Juan Edgardo Angara and Loren Legarda in the Senate.Both RBH No. 6 and 7 seek to amend Articles 12, 14 and 16 of the Constitution, or the provision on public services, education and advertising industry through the insertion of the phrase, “unless otherwise provided by law.” It aims to empower Congress to lift or relax present economic restrictions in the nation’s basic law, and the addition of the qualifier “basic” to Paragraph 2, Section 4 of Article XIV, which requires educational institutions to be owned 60-40 rule or at least 60 percent should be owned by a Filipino citizen or corporation and the rest by the foreign investor. This means that ownership of basic education facilities would remain to Filipinos, while higher education facilities would be open to full foreign ownership.Romualdez maintained that these amendments are the “last piece in the puzzle of investment measures” in order for the country “to sustain our economic growth, create more job and income opportunities, and in general, make life better for Filipinos.”“These changes, if ratified by our people in a plebiscite, will greatly boost these measures, including our President’s investment missions abroad which have generated actual investments and pledges in the billions of dollars and created thousands of jobs,” he said.He said it will send a strong signal to the international community especially foreign investors that the country is now fully open for business.“We heard the wise counsel and suggestions of the resource persons and experts we invited to our hearings. We assure the business community and our people that we are working on the other factors that affect investments, like ease of doing business, the high cost of electricity, infrastructure, and similar issues,” he added.Romualdez called on the Senate to pass RBH No. 6 soon. (TPM/SunStar Philippines) Lisensiyang Pampahintulot sa Paghuhusga sa Pilipinas AMID calls to stop the P28.78 billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Friday that the project will still push through and that the first of its packages may even be operational in a couple of months.“Ipagpatutuloy po natin yan. We will continue. As we have discussed with the mayor and the governor, we will push through with the project,” Bautista said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the general assembly of the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association on April 19, 2024 at the Fili Hotel, Nustar Cebu. Bautista met with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Thursday night, April 18, and concerns over the CBRT’s implementation were among the things they discussed. “We agreed to help each other, to coordinate with each other, so that we can continue the construction of the Cebu BRT. Posibling magkaroon ng (It’s possible for there to be a) modification,” he added. Bautista also met with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on Friday morning regarding the CBRT project.Rama sued the governor on March 20 for meddling in the Department of Transportation (DOTr) project built in the highly urbanized and independent Cebu City, after Garcia ordered contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. on Feb. 27 to halt CBRT construction activities on Province-owned lots on Osmeña Blvd.She said the construction work potentially violated a Philippine heritage law, as it appeared to be conducted within the buffer zones of heritage zones. In particular, Garcia complained that the large leaf design of the intended Capitol bus station obstructed the view of the pre-war era Provincial Capitol building.Suspend packagesSince the start of the civil works on the CBRT Package 1 in March 2023, delays and controversies have marred the project, the most recent of which was the call of the Cebu City Council at its regular session last Wednesday to suspend the implementation of Packages 2, 3 and 4 of the CBRT project, and to change the route of the project. Last March 25, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) requested the proponent DOTr to submit an Archeological Impact Assessment and development plans for the project for the NCCA’s approval before resuming work on Capitol-owned lots in the area.Bautista said there is a possibility of modifications in the CBRT project, including the redesigning of the bus station. However, he stressed that the modifications must be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), and the project funders, meaning the World Bank and the French Development Agency.No changeBut in a text message on Friday, CBRT project manager Norvin Imbong told SunStar Cebu that the design of the bus station along Osmeña Blvd. in front of the Cebu Capitol Building going to the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda will remain the same due to the difficulty of redesigning it. Imbong added that CBRT implementers are working to comply with the heritage impact assessment, with the DOTr central office already having hired a third-party proponent to formulate the assessment. Bautista, on the other hand, said he will review the call of some local officials to stop the project. “Ang tinatapos lang natin ay (The only thing we are completing is) Package 1, but we will work with them kasi (because) this is a very important project of the Department (of Transportation) as it will benefit the Cebuanos,” Bautista said. “Overall, we are looking for partial operations, siguro mga (maybe in) June of this year,” he added. The CBRT, a priority project of the Marcos Jr. administration, has a budget allocation of P28.78 billion. It spans 35.28 kilometers.The project, first intended to be completed in 2025 but moved to 2027, is divided into four packages. Package 1 covers the route from Osmeña Boulevard to the South Bus Terminal (2.38 kilometers); Package 2, route from the South Road Properties (SRP), Barangay Mambaling, and Escario St., Capitol, and Gorordo Ave. (10.8 km); Package 3, routes from the Cebu IT Park to Barangay Talamban and from the SRP to Talisay City. Package 4 will feature a dedicated lane from barangays Bulacao to Mambaling, extension of the alignment from Ayala to Cebu IT Park, a rotunda underneath the Mambaling flyover, and the conversion of a mixed traffic lane along the coastal road at the SRP and F. Vestil St.The CBRT project is expected to cater to 60,000 passengers daily in its first year of operation, and up to 160,000 passengers once fully operational, according to the DOTr. Trial runMajority of the members of the Cebu City Council once again called to suspend the civil works of the second to fourth packages of the CBRT, but this time, only for six months while a trial run for the Barangay Bulacao to Ayala route is conducted.Last February, the Council had called for the suspension of the remaining packages, without indicating the duration for the suspension, saying only that the suspension should be undertaken to give time to observe the Package 1 operations to help determine if the CBRT really works, as well as to address the challenges to acquire the lots needed for the succeeding CBRT packages.The Council also unanimously agreed Wednesday, April 17, to request Mayor Rama to convene a CBRT Technical Working Group to discuss the option of a City-operated trial run of a CBRT route from Bulacao to Ayala while the three remaining packages of the CBRT are suspended.But the proposed trial run did not sit well with some councilors, who said a TWG study must be done before conducting the trial run.Fix the projectCebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, who chairs the committee on transportation and who has been a critic of the CBRT project, said in his privilege speech on Wednesday that there is still a chance to fix the mass transport system project through the steps presented by mass transportation expert and consultant Rene Santiago.Cuenco said that according to Santigao, there could be three ways the CBRT project could proceed with the suspension of the remaining packages after the completion of Package 1: Conduct a dry run for the Bulacao to Ayala route; have exclusive bus lanes but no re-paving of roads, and just use temporary cost-effective bus stations; and for the Cebu City Government to take over with the Neda and the DOTr observing.“That is why I have presented my speech not to counter-argue, but to clarify. By coming together with open minds, we can chart a path forward that will ensure that this project is implemented not as a reckless battle but as a strategic operation,” said Cuenco.But Councilor Nestor Archival questioned the proposal, saying that during the executive session last April 3 where Santiago was present, he was not able to answer how he intended to perform his suggestions.“During the executive session, he was telling us that he can do that within six months, but he can’t prove it. He can’t tell us how,” said Archival.Cuenco said he met with Santiago after the executive session and the traffic expert told him what steps to be taken for the project within six months, but he can’t reveal these yet “because the Department of Transportation might copy.”Archival, in response, said he preferred convening the TWG first and have it conduct a study immediately and give a report to the Council on the feasibility of a trial run.These concerns prompted Archival not to vote for the measures presented by Cuenco.Other members of the minority bloc, Councilors Joy Augustus Young, Mary Ann de los Santos and Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa, also voted no to the measures presented by Cuenco.Association of Barangay Councils president Franklyn Ong, meanwhile, abstained from voting, saying his concerns on who will operate the CBRT and what type of buses traverse the CBRT route remained unanswered by the transportation agency.Wrong routeIn his privilege speech, Cuenco also said that during an executive session on April 3, 2024, engineers Santiago and Nigel Paul Villarete suggested that Package 1 of the CBRT project could have been implemented elsewhere instead of Osmeña Boulevard. Their reasons included the short distance of the CBRT route from the South Bus Terminal to the Capitol, the presence of numerous crosswalks along the route, and the possibility of simpler BRT station designs to save time and money. They said the current BRT routes primarily connect commercial centers like the Ayala mall and Cebu IT Park, rather than residential areas as originally intended. They also questioned the request for a depot in SRP, which they argued was not aligned with the BRT’s original purpose. Instead, they proposed considering an alternative route via Fuente to Gen. Maxilom Ave. if the public prefers avoiding Capitol, while maintaining the start and end points in Barangays Bulacao and Talamban. The session concluded that there is no reason not to suspend Packages 2 and 3 while exploring the possibility of streamlining the route to a direct path from Bulacao to Ayala or Talamban.MisconceptionsCuenco also responded to former mayor Tomas Osmeña’s warning of a possible blacklisting by donor nations if the CBRT project were to be halted, by saying that the cancellation of foreign state loans for large-scale projects has not always resulted in negative repercussions. He said in 2016, a $300 million e-trike project loan from the Asian Development Bank was canceled due to lack of buyers and high manufacturing costs. He added that in 2022, a $64.6 million loan for the BRT Line 1 project from Quezon Ave. to España Blvd. was canceled by agreement between the government and the World Bank. He also said that in 2023, a $172 million loan from South Korea for the proposed New Cebu International Container Port expired with the project only one percent complete. In too deep Cuenco said another misconception is that the CBRT project has progressed too far and a significant portion of its loan has been spent, making it impossible to halt. However, he said during their session, that the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Cebu City’s Lot Acquisition Committee revealed that only half of the project’s budget is allocated for land acquisition. He said no letter-offers had been served to lot owners yet, so half of the project budget remains unspent, with only time being wasted.

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AMID calls to stop the P28.78 billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Friday that the project will still push through and that the first of its packages may even be operational in a couple of months.“Ipagpatutuloy po natin yan. We will continue. As we have discussed with the mayor and the governor, we will push through with the project,” Bautista said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the general assembly of the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association on April 19, 2024 at the Fili Hotel, Nustar Cebu. Bautista met with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Thursday night, April 18, and concerns over the CBRT’s implementation were among the things they discussed. “We agreed to help each other, to coordinate with each other, so that we can continue the construction of the Cebu BRT. Posibling magkaroon ng (It’s possible for there to be a) modification,” he added. Bautista also met with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on Friday morning regarding the CBRT project.Rama sued the governor on March 20 for meddling in the Department of Transportation (DOTr) project built in the highly urbanized and independent Cebu City, after Garcia ordered contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. on Feb. 27 to halt CBRT construction activities on Province-owned lots on Osmeña Blvd.She said the construction work potentially violated a Philippine heritage law, as it appeared to be conducted within the buffer zones of heritage zones. In particular, Garcia complained that the large leaf design of the intended Capitol bus station obstructed the view of the pre-war era Provincial Capitol building.Suspend packagesSince the start of the civil works on the CBRT Package 1 in March 2023, delays and controversies have marred the project, the most recent of which was the call of the Cebu City Council at its regular session last Wednesday to suspend the implementation of Packages 2, 3 and 4 of the CBRT project, and to change the route of the project. Last March 25, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) requested the proponent DOTr to submit an Archeological Impact Assessment and development plans for the project for the NCCA’s approval before resuming work on Capitol-owned lots in the area.Bautista said there is a possibility of modifications in the CBRT project, including the redesigning of the bus station. However, he stressed that the modifications must be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), and the project funders, meaning the World Bank and the French Development Agency.No changeBut in a text message on Friday, CBRT project manager Norvin Imbong told SunStar Cebu that the design of the bus station along Osmeña Blvd. in front of the Cebu Capitol Building going to the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda will remain the same due to the difficulty of redesigning it. Imbong added that CBRT implementers are working to comply with the heritage impact assessment, with the DOTr central office already having hired a third-party proponent to formulate the assessment. Bautista, on the other hand, said he will review the call of some local officials to stop the project. “Ang tinatapos lang natin ay (The only thing we are completing is) Package 1, but we will work with them kasi (because) this is a very important project of the Department (of Transportation) as it will benefit the Cebuanos,” Bautista said. “Overall, we are looking for partial operations, siguro mga (maybe in) June of this year,” he added. The CBRT, a priority project of the Marcos Jr. administration, has a budget allocation of P28.78 billion. It spans 35.28 kilometers.The project, first intended to be completed in 2025 but moved to 2027, is divided into four packages. Package 1 covers the route from Osmeña Boulevard to the South Bus Terminal (2.38 kilometers); Package 2, route from the South Road Properties (SRP), Barangay Mambaling, and Escario St., Capitol, and Gorordo Ave. (10.8 km); Package 3, routes from the Cebu IT Park to Barangay Talamban and from the SRP to Talisay City. Package 4 will feature a dedicated lane from barangays Bulacao to Mambaling, extension of the alignment from Ayala to Cebu IT Park, a rotunda underneath the Mambaling flyover, and the conversion of a mixed traffic lane along the coastal road at the SRP and F. Vestil St.The CBRT project is expected to cater to 60,000 passengers daily in its first year of operation, and up to 160,000 passengers once fully operational, according to the DOTr. Trial runMajority of the members of the Cebu City Council once again called to suspend the civil works of the second to fourth packages of the CBRT, but this time, only for six months while a trial run for the Barangay Bulacao to Ayala route is conducted.Last February, the Council had called for the suspension of the remaining packages, without indicating the duration for the suspension, saying only that the suspension should be undertaken to give time to observe the Package 1 operations to help determine if the CBRT really works, as well as to address the challenges to acquire the lots needed for the succeeding CBRT packages.The Council also unanimously agreed Wednesday, April 17, to request Mayor Rama to convene a CBRT Technical Working Group to discuss the option of a City-operated trial run of a CBRT route from Bulacao to Ayala while the three remaining packages of the CBRT are suspended.But the proposed trial run did not sit well with some councilors, who said a TWG study must be done before conducting the trial run.Fix the projectCebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, who chairs the committee on transportation and who has been a critic of the CBRT project, said in his privilege speech on Wednesday that there is still a chance to fix the mass transport system project through the steps presented by mass transportation expert and consultant Rene Santiago.Cuenco said that according to Santigao, there could be three ways the CBRT project could proceed with the suspension of the remaining packages after the completion of Package 1: Conduct a dry run for the Bulacao to Ayala route; have exclusive bus lanes but no re-paving of roads, and just use temporary cost-effective bus stations; and for the Cebu City Government to take over with the Neda and the DOTr observing.“That is why I have presented my speech not to counter-argue, but to clarify. By coming together with open minds, we can chart a path forward that will ensure that this project is implemented not as a reckless battle but as a strategic operation,” said Cuenco.But Councilor Nestor Archival questioned the proposal, saying that during the executive session last April 3 where Santiago was present, he was not able to answer how he intended to perform his suggestions.“During the executive session, he was telling us that he can do that within six months, but he can’t prove it. He can’t tell us how,” said Archival.Cuenco said he met with Santiago after the executive session and the traffic expert told him what steps to be taken for the project within six months, but he can’t reveal these yet “because the Department of Transportation might copy.”Archival, in response, said he preferred convening the TWG first and have it conduct a study immediately and give a report to the Council on the feasibility of a trial run.These concerns prompted Archival not to vote for the measures presented by Cuenco.Other members of the minority bloc, Councilors Joy Augustus Young, Mary Ann de los Santos and Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa, also voted no to the measures presented by Cuenco.Association of Barangay Councils president Franklyn Ong, meanwhile, abstained from voting, saying his concerns on who will operate the CBRT and what type of buses traverse the CBRT route remained unanswered by the transportation agency.Wrong routeIn his privilege speech, Cuenco also said that during an executive session on April 3, 2024, engineers Santiago and Nigel Paul Villarete suggested that Package 1 of the CBRT project could have been implemented elsewhere instead of Osmeña Boulevard. Their reasons included the short distance of the CBRT route from the South Bus Terminal to the Capitol, the presence of numerous crosswalks along the route, and the possibility of simpler BRT station designs to save time and money. They said the current BRT routes primarily connect commercial centers like the Ayala mall and Cebu IT Park, rather than residential areas as originally intended. They also questioned the request for a depot in SRP, which they argued was not aligned with the BRT’s original purpose. Instead, they proposed considering an alternative route via Fuente to Gen. Maxilom Ave. if the public prefers avoiding Capitol, while maintaining the start and end points in Barangays Bulacao and Talamban. The session concluded that there is no reason not to suspend Packages 2 and 3 while exploring the possibility of streamlining the route to a direct path from Bulacao to Ayala or Talamban.MisconceptionsCuenco also responded to former mayor Tomas Osmeña’s warning of a possible blacklisting by donor nations if the CBRT project were to be halted, by saying that the cancellation of foreign state loans for large-scale projects has not always resulted in negative repercussions. He said in 2016, a $300 million e-trike project loan from the Asian Development Bank was canceled due to lack of buyers and high manufacturing costs. He added that in 2022, a $64.6 million loan for the BRT Line 1 project from Quezon Ave. to España Blvd. was canceled by agreement between the government and the World Bank. He also said that in 2023, a $172 million loan from South Korea for the proposed New Cebu International Container Port expired with the project only one percent complete. In too deep Cuenco said another misconception is that the CBRT project has progressed too far and a significant portion of its loan has been spent, making it impossible to halt. However, he said during their session, that the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Cebu City’s Lot Acquisition Committee revealed that only half of the project’s budget is allocated for land acquisition. He said no letter-offers had been served to lot owners yet, so half of the project budget remains unspent, with only time being wasted., check the following table to see what categories most online casinos in the Philippines fit in.

IN THE continuing struggle for control over the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA)-installed officer-in-charge (OIC), John Dx Lapid, was barred from entering the MCWD office building in downtown Cebu City on Monday morning, while on the same day Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and seven mayors expressed their support for the MCWD officials who had been suspended by the LWUA.Lapid was able to enter only after general manger Edgar Donoso, the person whom Lapid was supposed to replace, issued a memorandum at 12:32 p.m. allowing Lapid to enter and to report to his post as division manager for customer care, but not as OIC.Lapid had been outside the MCWD building since 5:59 a.m. Lapid said the LWUA had instructed him not to leave the entrance of the basement parking of the MCWD building.Upon hearing of his plight, Cebu City Administrator Collin Rosell, along with City Budget Officer Jerone Castillo and City Legal Officer Carlo Vincent Gimena, arrived at the MCWD office to support Lapid in his appointment as OIC general manager.The LWUA appointed Lapid following its suspension of Donoso for 90 days last Friday, April 12. When Lapid finally entered the MCWD building, he called for a general assembly on the eighth floor. But only a few employees showed up.Lapid and the city officials went to the fifth floor to Donoso’s office, where a short confrontation occurred.MCWD secretary Jodelyn May Seno asked Rosell and Castillo to leave because they were city employees. The two ignored her, arguing that she had already been suspended by the LWUA.Members of the interim board installed by LWUA also arrived during the confrontation.Also present were Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) head Harold Alcontin and Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office head Reymarr Hijara.At least 90 personnel from Task Force Kasaligan, along with CCDRRMO personnel, were deployed outside and inside the MCWD building.No entryDuring a press conference on Monday, MCWD chairman Jose Daluz III said they drafted a resolution barring Lapid and the interim board from the MCWD building.He said it was similar to the resolution Lapid started drafting to ban him, Donoso and the rest of his board, meaning Miguelito Pato and Seno, from entering.Daluz reiterated that the LWUA’s March 15 intervention that saw him, Pato and Seno suspended for six months, was illegal, arguing that it could only intervene if the MCWD defaulted financially on its loan, which it did not.“We only owe (LWUA) P13 million. We pay P65,000 every month, non-bearing interest. And we pay in advance,” he said in Cebuano.Daluz said the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel’s (OGCC) opinion regarding the LWUA’s actions was clear that LWUA could only intervene if there was a loan default. He said the LWUA did not abide by the OGCC’s opinion, as it had earlier promised.ResignDaluz also encouraged Lapid to resign from his post to show “decency,” saying that his acceptance of the OIC position was an act of “insubordination” towards his bosses.“I won’t resign,” Lapid responded.Lapid said he is a regular employee of the water district, adding that if they give him a show cause order he will answer it.He said if they fire him, then he will see what will happen.“I am not afraid because I firmly stand by my conviction that the LWUA has jurisdiction over a water district, not just MCWD, but all water districts,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.Lapid said the LWUA’s suspension of Donoso and the Daluz-led board was part of the due process.“Nibarog ta for the water district para mahuman ni tanan problema (I stood up for the water district so all these problems would end),” he said, referring to the struggle for control of MCWD.Donoso said he did not receive a copy of his suspension order.He also questioned why he was not afforded due time to explain his side.Donoso said the respect and hospitality they gave to LWUA have reached their limits.He reiterated that the LWUA’s takeover was unfounded and without due process.Employees, mayors back DaluzMeanwhile, Sammy Suson, president of the MCWD employees’ union with 583 members, said they do not support Lapid’s appointment as OIC general manager.“We will not recognize the intervention of the LWUA,” Suson said.Daniel Lim Jr., president of the non-regular employees’ union with 100 members, echoed his sentiment.Some local chief executives in Metro Cebu also expressed their support for the Daluz-led board and Donoso.Daluz, Donoso, Seno and suspended board vice chairman Pato met with Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado, Compostela Mayor Felijur Quiño, Cordova Mayor Cesar Suan, Liloan Mayor Aljew Frasco, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia at the Capitol on Monday.During a press conference at the Capitol, the governor said the LWUA’s intervention was untimely, creating confusion among employees and consumers as the province faces the effects of the El Niño phenomenon. She said she had brokered an agreement between both parties that they must adhere to the legal opinion of the OGCC, which was released last April 2. Garcia said the LWUA misinterpreted the OGCC’s opinion in its favor, and pushed through with its partial intervention. She said if LWUA insists on interfering in the local water district, she may be forced to invoke Section 16 of Republic Act 7162, or the “General Welfare” clause of the Local Government Code, to ensure the status quo at the MCWD.“I may call on government agency or uniformed personnel to see to it that the General Welfare Board of the constituent of Cebu will be upheld and law will be upheld because all of us took a solemn oath to that,” Garcia said. The mayors backed Garcia’s statement, arguing that changing the administration of a government agency that serves water during a dry spell was unnecessary. The MCWD’s franchise area includes the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay, and the municipalities of Consolacion, Compostela, Cordova and Liloan. The mayors also condemned LWUA’s partial intervention as unlawful due to its invalid reasons and not following the OGCC opinion. Members of the Provincial Board (PB) and Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, were also at the meeting to support the Daluz-led board and Donoso.Garcia said the PB will pass a resolution to support the mayors’ plea. The LWUA suspended Daluz, Pato and Seno for six months starting March 15, to give way for its investigation on several issues at the MCWD. It suspended Donoso last April 12 for 90 days for continuing to defy the interim board’s request to turn over documents on MCWD’s transactions and failing to respond to a five-day notice to explain his decision. Gwen vs. RamaThis is not the first time that the governor has backed officials and agencies that are at odds with the Cebu City Government.Garcia also supported the Cebu Port Authority, and called out the City for ignoring the port authority’s territorial jurisdiction.Earlier in the year, she and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama also disagreed on the implementation of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit project, which resulted in the mayor filing an administrative case against Garcia for “meddling” in the city’s project.Garcia had issued a cease and desist order against the contractor to stop the construction of a bus station near the Capitol building due to lack of a permit related to heritage zones.As for the conflict at the MCWD, it started when Rama fired the Daluz-led board. Daluz had said he would opt to wait for the LWUA’s intervention on the matter and abide by the agency’s order. But last March 15, when the LWUA informed Daluz and Donoso that it would intervene in the water district for six months and appoint an interim board to replace the Daluz-led board, Donoso wrote the OGCC for its opinion on the matter. When the OGCC released its opinion, the LWUA and Daluz interpreted it differently in their favor. LWUA speaks outIn a statement late Monday, LWUA Administrator Jose Moises Salonga said that although the OGCC’s opinion cited Section 61 of Presidential Decree 198 (Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973), which talks of default in terms of payment of the principal or interest on a loan, the same section also provides that “default includes ‘other obligations to the Administration’ as another ground independent from the financial provisions.”“The 2015 Financial Assistance Contract (FAC) memorializes those obligations both financial and technical. In fact, that very document notes that any failure to deliver or comply with any obligation, promise or covenant is a situation of breach and default. Thus, for Mr. Daluz and company to claim that default ONLY pertains to loans is merely their own interpretation that they are desperately peddling to the public, and we fear, to the governor and mayors,” Salonga said.“The default on the part of MCWD pertains to its obligations under the FAC between MCWD and LWUA, wherein MCWD committed to perform the following:1. To comply with the provisions of PD 198 or other amendatory decrees, acts, or laws, and the rules, regulations, and standards established by LWUA. 2. To establish a leakage control program. within one year from the date of the FAC. Said program will identify the principal causes of water losses in MCWD, identify its precise location, and establish a priority schedule to minimize such losses. The leakage control program will establish and systematically maintain a record of its transmission and distribution systems and will develop procedures for the regular inspection and repair of distribution mains and service connections to achieve a water loss position that is satisfactory to LWUA. 3. To consult LWUA before it appoints or makes permanent its General Manager, whose appointment shall be subject to confirmation of LWUA. “The above violations constitute default on the part of MCWD under the 2015 FAC.”Furthermore, he said MCWD had a high NRW (non-revenue water), which had no marked improvement from year 2020 to 2022. The consistent rise in its NRW during this period resulted in an annual loss on revenue by an average of at least P117.759 million. “MCWD’s NRW steadily increased from 20.34 million cu.m. in 2020 (with a 25.26 percent NRW), to 24.542 million cu.m in 2021 (29.04 percent NRW), and 29.481 million cu. m in 2022 (32.67 percent NRW)” when, in fact, Salonga said, MCWD had committed to a 15 percent NRW rate for 2023, which it failed to achieve. From the FAC signing, MCWD has yet to come up with the measures, plans and results it had committed in the deal, Salonga said.BankruptAnother reason for the LWUA action of suspending the Daluz-led board is that “at the rate the procurement is going, at the prices they are contracting, LWUA fears that MCWD as a GOCC (government owned and controlled corporation) is going to go bankrupt soon.”The FAC also gives LWUA multiple options to address the violations of MCWD. “The preventive suspension of the members of the MCWD board was a tame response on the part of LWUA and merely a preliminary step to investigate the violations of the FAC,” he said. Due processSalonga said due process was complied with, as it provided the suspended MCWD board multiple opportunities to respond to the violations “through the issuances of the show cause order and final demand letter dated 20 March 2024, and 03 April 2024, respectively. The suspended MCWD failed to respond, and thereby deemed to have waived their right to be heard prior to the remedial actions of LWUA.”He said LWUA is performing its mandate under PD 198 by implementing the FAC to ensure the prudent use of public funds and the provision of basic services to the people. He asked the local chief executives of Cebu to reconsider their position “upon a careful study of the full state of facts.”“At this time where El Niño is present and no infrastructure work can be done due to strained political and community relations, there is no reason why LWUA should not act in the most expedient manner,” Salonga said. / EHP, AML, JJL, CTL Online Casinos in the Philippines . At GOAL11t Sign-Up Pinas online casino you will find every form of popular online casino game from slots to roulette, blackjack, baccarat and live video poker. here is how to register at an online casino site in the Philippines:

AMID calls to stop the P28.78 billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Friday that the project will still push through and that the first of its packages may even be operational in a couple of months.“Ipagpatutuloy po natin yan. We will continue. As we have discussed with the mayor and the governor, we will push through with the project,” Bautista said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the general assembly of the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association on April 19, 2024 at the Fili Hotel, Nustar Cebu. Bautista met with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Thursday night, April 18, and concerns over the CBRT’s implementation were among the things they discussed. “We agreed to help each other, to coordinate with each other, so that we can continue the construction of the Cebu BRT. Posibling magkaroon ng (It’s possible for there to be a) modification,” he added. Bautista also met with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on Friday morning regarding the CBRT project.Rama sued the governor on March 20 for meddling in the Department of Transportation (DOTr) project built in the highly urbanized and independent Cebu City, after Garcia ordered contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. on Feb. 27 to halt CBRT construction activities on Province-owned lots on Osmeña Blvd.She said the construction work potentially violated a Philippine heritage law, as it appeared to be conducted within the buffer zones of heritage zones. In particular, Garcia complained that the large leaf design of the intended Capitol bus station obstructed the view of the pre-war era Provincial Capitol building.Suspend packagesSince the start of the civil works on the CBRT Package 1 in March 2023, delays and controversies have marred the project, the most recent of which was the call of the Cebu City Council at its regular session last Wednesday to suspend the implementation of Packages 2, 3 and 4 of the CBRT project, and to change the route of the project. Last March 25, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) requested the proponent DOTr to submit an Archeological Impact Assessment and development plans for the project for the NCCA’s approval before resuming work on Capitol-owned lots in the area.Bautista said there is a possibility of modifications in the CBRT project, including the redesigning of the bus station. However, he stressed that the modifications must be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), and the project funders, meaning the World Bank and the French Development Agency.No changeBut in a text message on Friday, CBRT project manager Norvin Imbong told SunStar Cebu that the design of the bus station along Osmeña Blvd. in front of the Cebu Capitol Building going to the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda will remain the same due to the difficulty of redesigning it. Imbong added that CBRT implementers are working to comply with the heritage impact assessment, with the DOTr central office already having hired a third-party proponent to formulate the assessment. Bautista, on the other hand, said he will review the call of some local officials to stop the project. “Ang tinatapos lang natin ay (The only thing we are completing is) Package 1, but we will work with them kasi (because) this is a very important project of the Department (of Transportation) as it will benefit the Cebuanos,” Bautista said. “Overall, we are looking for partial operations, siguro mga (maybe in) June of this year,” he added. The CBRT, a priority project of the Marcos Jr. administration, has a budget allocation of P28.78 billion. It spans 35.28 kilometers.The project, first intended to be completed in 2025 but moved to 2027, is divided into four packages. Package 1 covers the route from Osmeña Boulevard to the South Bus Terminal (2.38 kilometers); Package 2, route from the South Road Properties (SRP), Barangay Mambaling, and Escario St., Capitol, and Gorordo Ave. (10.8 km); Package 3, routes from the Cebu IT Park to Barangay Talamban and from the SRP to Talisay City. Package 4 will feature a dedicated lane from barangays Bulacao to Mambaling, extension of the alignment from Ayala to Cebu IT Park, a rotunda underneath the Mambaling flyover, and the conversion of a mixed traffic lane along the coastal road at the SRP and F. Vestil St.The CBRT project is expected to cater to 60,000 passengers daily in its first year of operation, and up to 160,000 passengers once fully operational, according to the DOTr. Trial runMajority of the members of the Cebu City Council once again called to suspend the civil works of the second to fourth packages of the CBRT, but this time, only for six months while a trial run for the Barangay Bulacao to Ayala route is conducted.Last February, the Council had called for the suspension of the remaining packages, without indicating the duration for the suspension, saying only that the suspension should be undertaken to give time to observe the Package 1 operations to help determine if the CBRT really works, as well as to address the challenges to acquire the lots needed for the succeeding CBRT packages.The Council also unanimously agreed Wednesday, April 17, to request Mayor Rama to convene a CBRT Technical Working Group to discuss the option of a City-operated trial run of a CBRT route from Bulacao to Ayala while the three remaining packages of the CBRT are suspended.But the proposed trial run did not sit well with some councilors, who said a TWG study must be done before conducting the trial run.Fix the projectCebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, who chairs the committee on transportation and who has been a critic of the CBRT project, said in his privilege speech on Wednesday that there is still a chance to fix the mass transport system project through the steps presented by mass transportation expert and consultant Rene Santiago.Cuenco said that according to Santigao, there could be three ways the CBRT project could proceed with the suspension of the remaining packages after the completion of Package 1: Conduct a dry run for the Bulacao to Ayala route; have exclusive bus lanes but no re-paving of roads, and just use temporary cost-effective bus stations; and for the Cebu City Government to take over with the Neda and the DOTr observing.“That is why I have presented my speech not to counter-argue, but to clarify. By coming together with open minds, we can chart a path forward that will ensure that this project is implemented not as a reckless battle but as a strategic operation,” said Cuenco.But Councilor Nestor Archival questioned the proposal, saying that during the executive session last April 3 where Santiago was present, he was not able to answer how he intended to perform his suggestions.“During the executive session, he was telling us that he can do that within six months, but he can’t prove it. He can’t tell us how,” said Archival.Cuenco said he met with Santiago after the executive session and the traffic expert told him what steps to be taken for the project within six months, but he can’t reveal these yet “because the Department of Transportation might copy.”Archival, in response, said he preferred convening the TWG first and have it conduct a study immediately and give a report to the Council on the feasibility of a trial run.These concerns prompted Archival not to vote for the measures presented by Cuenco.Other members of the minority bloc, Councilors Joy Augustus Young, Mary Ann de los Santos and Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa, also voted no to the measures presented by Cuenco.Association of Barangay Councils president Franklyn Ong, meanwhile, abstained from voting, saying his concerns on who will operate the CBRT and what type of buses traverse the CBRT route remained unanswered by the transportation agency.Wrong routeIn his privilege speech, Cuenco also said that during an executive session on April 3, 2024, engineers Santiago and Nigel Paul Villarete suggested that Package 1 of the CBRT project could have been implemented elsewhere instead of Osmeña Boulevard. Their reasons included the short distance of the CBRT route from the South Bus Terminal to the Capitol, the presence of numerous crosswalks along the route, and the possibility of simpler BRT station designs to save time and money. They said the current BRT routes primarily connect commercial centers like the Ayala mall and Cebu IT Park, rather than residential areas as originally intended. They also questioned the request for a depot in SRP, which they argued was not aligned with the BRT’s original purpose. Instead, they proposed considering an alternative route via Fuente to Gen. Maxilom Ave. if the public prefers avoiding Capitol, while maintaining the start and end points in Barangays Bulacao and Talamban. The session concluded that there is no reason not to suspend Packages 2 and 3 while exploring the possibility of streamlining the route to a direct path from Bulacao to Ayala or Talamban.MisconceptionsCuenco also responded to former mayor Tomas Osmeña’s warning of a possible blacklisting by donor nations if the CBRT project were to be halted, by saying that the cancellation of foreign state loans for large-scale projects has not always resulted in negative repercussions. He said in 2016, a $300 million e-trike project loan from the Asian Development Bank was canceled due to lack of buyers and high manufacturing costs. He added that in 2022, a $64.6 million loan for the BRT Line 1 project from Quezon Ave. to España Blvd. was canceled by agreement between the government and the World Bank. He also said that in 2023, a $172 million loan from South Korea for the proposed New Cebu International Container Port expired with the project only one percent complete. In too deep Cuenco said another misconception is that the CBRT project has progressed too far and a significant portion of its loan has been spent, making it impossible to halt. However, he said during their session, that the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Cebu City’s Lot Acquisition Committee revealed that only half of the project’s budget is allocated for land acquisition. He said no letter-offers had been served to lot owners yet, so half of the project budget remains unspent, with only time being wasted. Lisensiyang Pampahintulot sa Paghuhusga sa Pilipinas . It’s always a good idea to take your time and make sure you’ve found the best online casino in the Philippines on the online gambling market that can give you what you want.

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IN THE continuing struggle for control over the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA)-installed officer-in-charge (OIC), John Dx Lapid, was barred from entering the MCWD office building in downtown Cebu City on Monday morning, while on the same day Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and seven mayors expressed their support for the MCWD officials who had been suspended by the LWUA.Lapid was able to enter only after general manger Edgar Donoso, the person whom Lapid was supposed to replace, issued a memorandum at 12:32 p.m. allowing Lapid to enter and to report to his post as division manager for customer care, but not as OIC.Lapid had been outside the MCWD building since 5:59 a.m. Lapid said the LWUA had instructed him not to leave the entrance of the basement parking of the MCWD building.Upon hearing of his plight, Cebu City Administrator Collin Rosell, along with City Budget Officer Jerone Castillo and City Legal Officer Carlo Vincent Gimena, arrived at the MCWD office to support Lapid in his appointment as OIC general manager.The LWUA appointed Lapid following its suspension of Donoso for 90 days last Friday, April 12. When Lapid finally entered the MCWD building, he called for a general assembly on the eighth floor. But only a few employees showed up.Lapid and the city officials went to the fifth floor to Donoso’s office, where a short confrontation occurred.MCWD secretary Jodelyn May Seno asked Rosell and Castillo to leave because they were city employees. The two ignored her, arguing that she had already been suspended by the LWUA.Members of the interim board installed by LWUA also arrived during the confrontation.Also present were Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) head Harold Alcontin and Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office head Reymarr Hijara.At least 90 personnel from Task Force Kasaligan, along with CCDRRMO personnel, were deployed outside and inside the MCWD building.No entryDuring a press conference on Monday, MCWD chairman Jose Daluz III said they drafted a resolution barring Lapid and the interim board from the MCWD building.He said it was similar to the resolution Lapid started drafting to ban him, Donoso and the rest of his board, meaning Miguelito Pato and Seno, from entering.Daluz reiterated that the LWUA’s March 15 intervention that saw him, Pato and Seno suspended for six months, was illegal, arguing that it could only intervene if the MCWD defaulted financially on its loan, which it did not.“We only owe (LWUA) P13 million. We pay P65,000 every month, non-bearing interest. And we pay in advance,” he said in Cebuano.Daluz said the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel’s (OGCC) opinion regarding the LWUA’s actions was clear that LWUA could only intervene if there was a loan default. He said the LWUA did not abide by the OGCC’s opinion, as it had earlier promised.ResignDaluz also encouraged Lapid to resign from his post to show “decency,” saying that his acceptance of the OIC position was an act of “insubordination” towards his bosses.“I won’t resign,” Lapid responded.Lapid said he is a regular employee of the water district, adding that if they give him a show cause order he will answer it.He said if they fire him, then he will see what will happen.“I am not afraid because I firmly stand by my conviction that the LWUA has jurisdiction over a water district, not just MCWD, but all water districts,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.Lapid said the LWUA’s suspension of Donoso and the Daluz-led board was part of the due process.“Nibarog ta for the water district para mahuman ni tanan problema (I stood up for the water district so all these problems would end),” he said, referring to the struggle for control of MCWD.Donoso said he did not receive a copy of his suspension order.He also questioned why he was not afforded due time to explain his side.Donoso said the respect and hospitality they gave to LWUA have reached their limits.He reiterated that the LWUA’s takeover was unfounded and without due process.Employees, mayors back DaluzMeanwhile, Sammy Suson, president of the MCWD employees’ union with 583 members, said they do not support Lapid’s appointment as OIC general manager.“We will not recognize the intervention of the LWUA,” Suson said.Daniel Lim Jr., president of the non-regular employees’ union with 100 members, echoed his sentiment.Some local chief executives in Metro Cebu also expressed their support for the Daluz-led board and Donoso.Daluz, Donoso, Seno and suspended board vice chairman Pato met with Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado, Compostela Mayor Felijur Quiño, Cordova Mayor Cesar Suan, Liloan Mayor Aljew Frasco, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia at the Capitol on Monday.During a press conference at the Capitol, the governor said the LWUA’s intervention was untimely, creating confusion among employees and consumers as the province faces the effects of the El Niño phenomenon. She said she had brokered an agreement between both parties that they must adhere to the legal opinion of the OGCC, which was released last April 2. Garcia said the LWUA misinterpreted the OGCC’s opinion in its favor, and pushed through with its partial intervention. She said if LWUA insists on interfering in the local water district, she may be forced to invoke Section 16 of Republic Act 7162, or the “General Welfare” clause of the Local Government Code, to ensure the status quo at the MCWD.“I may call on government agency or uniformed personnel to see to it that the General Welfare Board of the constituent of Cebu will be upheld and law will be upheld because all of us took a solemn oath to that,” Garcia said. The mayors backed Garcia’s statement, arguing that changing the administration of a government agency that serves water during a dry spell was unnecessary. The MCWD’s franchise area includes the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay, and the municipalities of Consolacion, Compostela, Cordova and Liloan. The mayors also condemned LWUA’s partial intervention as unlawful due to its invalid reasons and not following the OGCC opinion. Members of the Provincial Board (PB) and Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, were also at the meeting to support the Daluz-led board and Donoso.Garcia said the PB will pass a resolution to support the mayors’ plea. The LWUA suspended Daluz, Pato and Seno for six months starting March 15, to give way for its investigation on several issues at the MCWD. It suspended Donoso last April 12 for 90 days for continuing to defy the interim board’s request to turn over documents on MCWD’s transactions and failing to respond to a five-day notice to explain his decision. Gwen vs. RamaThis is not the first time that the governor has backed officials and agencies that are at odds with the Cebu City Government.Garcia also supported the Cebu Port Authority, and called out the City for ignoring the port authority’s territorial jurisdiction.Earlier in the year, she and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama also disagreed on the implementation of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit project, which resulted in the mayor filing an administrative case against Garcia for “meddling” in the city’s project.Garcia had issued a cease and desist order against the contractor to stop the construction of a bus station near the Capitol building due to lack of a permit related to heritage zones.As for the conflict at the MCWD, it started when Rama fired the Daluz-led board. Daluz had said he would opt to wait for the LWUA’s intervention on the matter and abide by the agency’s order. But last March 15, when the LWUA informed Daluz and Donoso that it would intervene in the water district for six months and appoint an interim board to replace the Daluz-led board, Donoso wrote the OGCC for its opinion on the matter. When the OGCC released its opinion, the LWUA and Daluz interpreted it differently in their favor. LWUA speaks outIn a statement late Monday, LWUA Administrator Jose Moises Salonga said that although the OGCC’s opinion cited Section 61 of Presidential Decree 198 (Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973), which talks of default in terms of payment of the principal or interest on a loan, the same section also provides that “default includes ‘other obligations to the Administration’ as another ground independent from the financial provisions.”“The 2015 Financial Assistance Contract (FAC) memorializes those obligations both financial and technical. In fact, that very document notes that any failure to deliver or comply with any obligation, promise or covenant is a situation of breach and default. Thus, for Mr. Daluz and company to claim that default ONLY pertains to loans is merely their own interpretation that they are desperately peddling to the public, and we fear, to the governor and mayors,” Salonga said.“The default on the part of MCWD pertains to its obligations under the FAC between MCWD and LWUA, wherein MCWD committed to perform the following:1. To comply with the provisions of PD 198 or other amendatory decrees, acts, or laws, and the rules, regulations, and standards established by LWUA. 2. To establish a leakage control program. within one year from the date of the FAC. Said program will identify the principal causes of water losses in MCWD, identify its precise location, and establish a priority schedule to minimize such losses. The leakage control program will establish and systematically maintain a record of its transmission and distribution systems and will develop procedures for the regular inspection and repair of distribution mains and service connections to achieve a water loss position that is satisfactory to LWUA. 3. To consult LWUA before it appoints or makes permanent its General Manager, whose appointment shall be subject to confirmation of LWUA. “The above violations constitute default on the part of MCWD under the 2015 FAC.”Furthermore, he said MCWD had a high NRW (non-revenue water), which had no marked improvement from year 2020 to 2022. The consistent rise in its NRW during this period resulted in an annual loss on revenue by an average of at least P117.759 million. “MCWD’s NRW steadily increased from 20.34 million cu.m. in 2020 (with a 25.26 percent NRW), to 24.542 million cu.m in 2021 (29.04 percent NRW), and 29.481 million cu. m in 2022 (32.67 percent NRW)” when, in fact, Salonga said, MCWD had committed to a 15 percent NRW rate for 2023, which it failed to achieve. From the FAC signing, MCWD has yet to come up with the measures, plans and results it had committed in the deal, Salonga said.BankruptAnother reason for the LWUA action of suspending the Daluz-led board is that “at the rate the procurement is going, at the prices they are contracting, LWUA fears that MCWD as a GOCC (government owned and controlled corporation) is going to go bankrupt soon.”The FAC also gives LWUA multiple options to address the violations of MCWD. “The preventive suspension of the members of the MCWD board was a tame response on the part of LWUA and merely a preliminary step to investigate the violations of the FAC,” he said. Due processSalonga said due process was complied with, as it provided the suspended MCWD board multiple opportunities to respond to the violations “through the issuances of the show cause order and final demand letter dated 20 March 2024, and 03 April 2024, respectively. The suspended MCWD failed to respond, and thereby deemed to have waived their right to be heard prior to the remedial actions of LWUA.”He said LWUA is performing its mandate under PD 198 by implementing the FAC to ensure the prudent use of public funds and the provision of basic services to the people. He asked the local chief executives of Cebu to reconsider their position “upon a careful study of the full state of facts.”“At this time where El Niño is present and no infrastructure work can be done due to strained political and community relations, there is no reason why LWUA should not act in the most expedient manner,” Salonga said. / EHP, AML, JJL, CTL licensed online casinos THE House of Representatives approved on third and final reading Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7, which contains its own version of the proposed amendments to the Constitution’s restrictive economic provisions.A total of 288 members of the lower chamber of Congress voted in favor RBH No. 7, while eight voted no and two abstention.RBH No. 7 was principally authored by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Third District Representative Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker and Quezon Representative David Suarez, Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Representative Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, and other House leaders.It is a clone of RBH No. 6, filed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Juan Edgardo Angara and Loren Legarda in the Senate.Both RBH No. 6 and 7 seek to amend Articles 12, 14 and 16 of the Constitution, or the provision on public services, education and advertising industry through the insertion of the phrase, “unless otherwise provided by law.” It aims to empower Congress to lift or relax present economic restrictions in the nation’s basic law, and the addition of the qualifier “basic” to Paragraph 2, Section 4 of Article XIV, which requires educational institutions to be owned 60-40 rule or at least 60 percent should be owned by a Filipino citizen or corporation and the rest by the foreign investor. This means that ownership of basic education facilities would remain to Filipinos, while higher education facilities would be open to full foreign ownership.Romualdez maintained that these amendments are the “last piece in the puzzle of investment measures” in order for the country “to sustain our economic growth, create more job and income opportunities, and in general, make life better for Filipinos.”“These changes, if ratified by our people in a plebiscite, will greatly boost these measures, including our President’s investment missions abroad which have generated actual investments and pledges in the billions of dollars and created thousands of jobs,” he said.He said it will send a strong signal to the international community especially foreign investors that the country is now fully open for business.“We heard the wise counsel and suggestions of the resource persons and experts we invited to our hearings. We assure the business community and our people that we are working on the other factors that affect investments, like ease of doing business, the high cost of electricity, infrastructure, and similar issues,” he added.Romualdez called on the Senate to pass RBH No. 6 soon. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)

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IN THE continuing struggle for control over the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA)-installed officer-in-charge (OIC), John Dx Lapid, was barred from entering the MCWD office building in downtown Cebu City on Monday morning, while on the same day Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and seven mayors expressed their support for the MCWD officials who had been suspended by the LWUA.Lapid was able to enter only after general manger Edgar Donoso, the person whom Lapid was supposed to replace, issued a memorandum at 12:32 p.m. allowing Lapid to enter and to report to his post as division manager for customer care, but not as OIC.Lapid had been outside the MCWD building since 5:59 a.m. Lapid said the LWUA had instructed him not to leave the entrance of the basement parking of the MCWD building.Upon hearing of his plight, Cebu City Administrator Collin Rosell, along with City Budget Officer Jerone Castillo and City Legal Officer Carlo Vincent Gimena, arrived at the MCWD office to support Lapid in his appointment as OIC general manager.The LWUA appointed Lapid following its suspension of Donoso for 90 days last Friday, April 12. When Lapid finally entered the MCWD building, he called for a general assembly on the eighth floor. But only a few employees showed up.Lapid and the city officials went to the fifth floor to Donoso’s office, where a short confrontation occurred.MCWD secretary Jodelyn May Seno asked Rosell and Castillo to leave because they were city employees. The two ignored her, arguing that she had already been suspended by the LWUA.Members of the interim board installed by LWUA also arrived during the confrontation.Also present were Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) head Harold Alcontin and Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office head Reymarr Hijara.At least 90 personnel from Task Force Kasaligan, along with CCDRRMO personnel, were deployed outside and inside the MCWD building.No entryDuring a press conference on Monday, MCWD chairman Jose Daluz III said they drafted a resolution barring Lapid and the interim board from the MCWD building.He said it was similar to the resolution Lapid started drafting to ban him, Donoso and the rest of his board, meaning Miguelito Pato and Seno, from entering.Daluz reiterated that the LWUA’s March 15 intervention that saw him, Pato and Seno suspended for six months, was illegal, arguing that it could only intervene if the MCWD defaulted financially on its loan, which it did not.“We only owe (LWUA) P13 million. We pay P65,000 every month, non-bearing interest. And we pay in advance,” he said in Cebuano.Daluz said the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel’s (OGCC) opinion regarding the LWUA’s actions was clear that LWUA could only intervene if there was a loan default. He said the LWUA did not abide by the OGCC’s opinion, as it had earlier promised.ResignDaluz also encouraged Lapid to resign from his post to show “decency,” saying that his acceptance of the OIC position was an act of “insubordination” towards his bosses.“I won’t resign,” Lapid responded.Lapid said he is a regular employee of the water district, adding that if they give him a show cause order he will answer it.He said if they fire him, then he will see what will happen.“I am not afraid because I firmly stand by my conviction that the LWUA has jurisdiction over a water district, not just MCWD, but all water districts,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.Lapid said the LWUA’s suspension of Donoso and the Daluz-led board was part of the due process.“Nibarog ta for the water district para mahuman ni tanan problema (I stood up for the water district so all these problems would end),” he said, referring to the struggle for control of MCWD.Donoso said he did not receive a copy of his suspension order.He also questioned why he was not afforded due time to explain his side.Donoso said the respect and hospitality they gave to LWUA have reached their limits.He reiterated that the LWUA’s takeover was unfounded and without due process.Employees, mayors back DaluzMeanwhile, Sammy Suson, president of the MCWD employees’ union with 583 members, said they do not support Lapid’s appointment as OIC general manager.“We will not recognize the intervention of the LWUA,” Suson said.Daniel Lim Jr., president of the non-regular employees’ union with 100 members, echoed his sentiment.Some local chief executives in Metro Cebu also expressed their support for the Daluz-led board and Donoso.Daluz, Donoso, Seno and suspended board vice chairman Pato met with Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado, Compostela Mayor Felijur Quiño, Cordova Mayor Cesar Suan, Liloan Mayor Aljew Frasco, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia at the Capitol on Monday.During a press conference at the Capitol, the governor said the LWUA’s intervention was untimely, creating confusion among employees and consumers as the province faces the effects of the El Niño phenomenon. She said she had brokered an agreement between both parties that they must adhere to the legal opinion of the OGCC, which was released last April 2. Garcia said the LWUA misinterpreted the OGCC’s opinion in its favor, and pushed through with its partial intervention. She said if LWUA insists on interfering in the local water district, she may be forced to invoke Section 16 of Republic Act 7162, or the “General Welfare” clause of the Local Government Code, to ensure the status quo at the MCWD.“I may call on government agency or uniformed personnel to see to it that the General Welfare Board of the constituent of Cebu will be upheld and law will be upheld because all of us took a solemn oath to that,” Garcia said. The mayors backed Garcia’s statement, arguing that changing the administration of a government agency that serves water during a dry spell was unnecessary. The MCWD’s franchise area includes the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay, and the municipalities of Consolacion, Compostela, Cordova and Liloan. The mayors also condemned LWUA’s partial intervention as unlawful due to its invalid reasons and not following the OGCC opinion. Members of the Provincial Board (PB) and Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, were also at the meeting to support the Daluz-led board and Donoso.Garcia said the PB will pass a resolution to support the mayors’ plea. The LWUA suspended Daluz, Pato and Seno for six months starting March 15, to give way for its investigation on several issues at the MCWD. It suspended Donoso last April 12 for 90 days for continuing to defy the interim board’s request to turn over documents on MCWD’s transactions and failing to respond to a five-day notice to explain his decision. Gwen vs. RamaThis is not the first time that the governor has backed officials and agencies that are at odds with the Cebu City Government.Garcia also supported the Cebu Port Authority, and called out the City for ignoring the port authority’s territorial jurisdiction.Earlier in the year, she and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama also disagreed on the implementation of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit project, which resulted in the mayor filing an administrative case against Garcia for “meddling” in the city’s project.Garcia had issued a cease and desist order against the contractor to stop the construction of a bus station near the Capitol building due to lack of a permit related to heritage zones.As for the conflict at the MCWD, it started when Rama fired the Daluz-led board. Daluz had said he would opt to wait for the LWUA’s intervention on the matter and abide by the agency’s order. But last March 15, when the LWUA informed Daluz and Donoso that it would intervene in the water district for six months and appoint an interim board to replace the Daluz-led board, Donoso wrote the OGCC for its opinion on the matter. When the OGCC released its opinion, the LWUA and Daluz interpreted it differently in their favor. LWUA speaks outIn a statement late Monday, LWUA Administrator Jose Moises Salonga said that although the OGCC’s opinion cited Section 61 of Presidential Decree 198 (Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973), which talks of default in terms of payment of the principal or interest on a loan, the same section also provides that “default includes ‘other obligations to the Administration’ as another ground independent from the financial provisions.”“The 2015 Financial Assistance Contract (FAC) memorializes those obligations both financial and technical. In fact, that very document notes that any failure to deliver or comply with any obligation, promise or covenant is a situation of breach and default. Thus, for Mr. Daluz and company to claim that default ONLY pertains to loans is merely their own interpretation that they are desperately peddling to the public, and we fear, to the governor and mayors,” Salonga said.“The default on the part of MCWD pertains to its obligations under the FAC between MCWD and LWUA, wherein MCWD committed to perform the following:1. To comply with the provisions of PD 198 or other amendatory decrees, acts, or laws, and the rules, regulations, and standards established by LWUA. 2. To establish a leakage control program. within one year from the date of the FAC. Said program will identify the principal causes of water losses in MCWD, identify its precise location, and establish a priority schedule to minimize such losses. The leakage control program will establish and systematically maintain a record of its transmission and distribution systems and will develop procedures for the regular inspection and repair of distribution mains and service connections to achieve a water loss position that is satisfactory to LWUA. 3. To consult LWUA before it appoints or makes permanent its General Manager, whose appointment shall be subject to confirmation of LWUA. “The above violations constitute default on the part of MCWD under the 2015 FAC.”Furthermore, he said MCWD had a high NRW (non-revenue water), which had no marked improvement from year 2020 to 2022. The consistent rise in its NRW during this period resulted in an annual loss on revenue by an average of at least P117.759 million. “MCWD’s NRW steadily increased from 20.34 million cu.m. in 2020 (with a 25.26 percent NRW), to 24.542 million cu.m in 2021 (29.04 percent NRW), and 29.481 million cu. m in 2022 (32.67 percent NRW)” when, in fact, Salonga said, MCWD had committed to a 15 percent NRW rate for 2023, which it failed to achieve. From the FAC signing, MCWD has yet to come up with the measures, plans and results it had committed in the deal, Salonga said.BankruptAnother reason for the LWUA action of suspending the Daluz-led board is that “at the rate the procurement is going, at the prices they are contracting, LWUA fears that MCWD as a GOCC (government owned and controlled corporation) is going to go bankrupt soon.”The FAC also gives LWUA multiple options to address the violations of MCWD. “The preventive suspension of the members of the MCWD board was a tame response on the part of LWUA and merely a preliminary step to investigate the violations of the FAC,” he said. Due processSalonga said due process was complied with, as it provided the suspended MCWD board multiple opportunities to respond to the violations “through the issuances of the show cause order and final demand letter dated 20 March 2024, and 03 April 2024, respectively. The suspended MCWD failed to respond, and thereby deemed to have waived their right to be heard prior to the remedial actions of LWUA.”He said LWUA is performing its mandate under PD 198 by implementing the FAC to ensure the prudent use of public funds and the provision of basic services to the people. He asked the local chief executives of Cebu to reconsider their position “upon a careful study of the full state of facts.”“At this time where El Niño is present and no infrastructure work can be done due to strained political and community relations, there is no reason why LWUA should not act in the most expedient manner,” Salonga said. / EHP, AML, JJL, CTL Online Casinos in the Philippines

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