Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia called on the “dismissed” members of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) Board of Directors (BOD) to “think of delicadeza” amid the latter’s refusal to heed their termination order.
“Perhaps it will be good to think about delicadeza,” Garcia was quoted in a report by the Capitol news arm, Sugbo News.
“In light of the present situation (that) eight LGUs have already expressed their dismay, frustration, dissatisfaction against the present operations of the MCWD, which necessarily reflects upon the performance of the board, perhaps it would be good to think about delicadeza,” Garcia said.
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, who possesses the authority to appoint and dismiss the MCWD BOD, has issued a termination order to all five members of the water district body last October 15, amid a public outcry over the water shortage in the metro.
Read more: Labella sacks MCWD board of directors
Read more: MCWD Board of Directors refuse to step down: Termination order ‘illegal’
Labella’s decision is backed by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), which supervises MCWD, a government-owned and controlled corporation.
But MCWD Chairman Joel Mari Yu, in a letter to Labella last October 17, said that he and the rest of the dismissed members of the BOD will not heed the termination order, saying it was invalid and illegal.
“It is in direct contravention of the Philippine Constitution, Presidential Decree No. 198 (the law that created the water district), existing relevant circulars and issuances, including jurisprudential guidelines,” Yu wrote.
The letter was also signed by MCWD General Manager Jose Eugenio Singson Jr.
“I’m sure the mayor knows what he is doing. Anyone claiming that such an order was illegal will have to contend with the mayor’s legal prowess himself,” Garcia countered, referring to Labella being a lawyer and a former chief of the Ombudsman in the Visayas.
Read more: Political names among candidates for MCWD Board
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia presented a wooden galeon to Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella symbolizing the two government units unity during the Unity and Solidarity Dinner and Media Night at the Capitol Social Hall on Saturday evening, August 31. (Rosalie Abatayo)
Garcia said she hoped the mayor will appoint someone from the provincial government in the new BOD so that the consumers from the component cities and towns of the province that are serviced by MCWD will now have a voice in the water district.
Labella earlier confirmed that he was considering some 25 candidates to replace the sacked BOD.
So far, however, only three names of prospective board members have been revealed. They are former Cebu City mayor Alvin Garcia, the father of incumbent Councilor and Labella ally Raymond Garcia; Lawyer Manolette Dinsay, who is one of Governor Garcia’s trusted legal consultants; and newspaper columnist and radio commentator Lawyer Frank Malilong./elb