MCWD sets consultative meetings, public hearings on tariff adjustments

Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Garcia (seated, right) with Councilor Francis Esparis (seated, 2nd from right) and Councilor Joel Garganera (foreground, left) listen to MCWD Corporate Planning Department Acting Manager Engr. John Macabinta as he explains the proposed water tariff adjustment last July 14 at the Cebu City Caucus Room. With them are MCWD managers headed by Acting General Manager Engr. Stephen D. Yee (3rd from left) and Board of Directors Chairman Jose Daluz III (foreground, right).

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) has scheduled this month a series of consultative meetings with local officials, from mayors to councilors and down to barangay level to apprise them and get their input on the water district’s proposed water tariff adjustment.

Afterward, MCWD will conduct separate public hearings with its consumers to lay down the proposed water tariff adjustment and its effects on their water bill.

The public hearing is the ‘first-step’ requirement set by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), the regulating agency of all water districts, prior to the submission of the application of the proposed water tariff adjustment and their subsequent review and approval process.

To date, MCWD already held consultative meetings with the barangay officials of Apas, Busay, and Lahug, respectively. Last July 14, it presented its proposed water tariff adjustment to Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, Chairman of the Council Committee on Utilities.

Despite the devastation brought about by the pandemic, the onslaught of Typhoon Odette, and the ongoing global economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, MCWD did not stop improving its capabilities and services under such hardship.

From 2015 to the present, MCWD has added 80,000 cubic meters of water per day, installed 140 kilometers of new pipelines to reach more consumers, replaced 12 kilometers of dilapidated pipelines to improve efficiency, constructed 1,000 cubic meter reservoir in Oppra, Cebu City, and added 57,000 new service connections.

To protect the environment, it is currently operating two Septage Treatment Plants located in San Miguel, Cordova, and North Reclamation Area, Cebu City. Over the period of seven years, it has spent P2.1 billion on infrastructure development and incurred P12 billion in operational expenses.

Just last year, it commissioned the Compostela Bulk Water Supply Project currently delivering 10,000 cubic meters per day to consumers in its northern service area. By September of this year, the P1.1-billion Lusaran Bulk Water Supply Project is scheduled to deliver additional volume of at least 15,000 cubic meters of water per day. This project will directly benefit the residents of barangays Busay, Lahug, Apas, Camputhaw, and Capitol Site, and next year nine mountain barangays of Cebu City will also get water from this project.

Through the devastations and developments, the water tariff of MCWD has remained the same for the past seven years. For a residential consumer with a ½-inch service connection, MCWD is currently charging a minimum water fee of P152.00 for the first 10 cubic meters and an additional commodity charge of P16.80 per cubic meter for consumption of 11-20 cubic meters, P19.80 for 21-30 cubic meters and P48.40 if it reaches 31 cubic meters and above.

Once the water tariff adjustment is fully implemented, by July next year, the household consuming 10 cubic meters per month will only add P81.15 per month to its water bill or P2.71 per day. For an average household consuming 20 cubic meters per month, it will add to its water bill only P174.69 per month or P5.82 per day.

Despite being the most important commodity, MCWD’s water service is still the lowest priced among other household utilities like electricity at P13 per kwHr, cellphone load at P600 per month, Internet bill at P1,200 per month, or bottled water at P20 per liter. MCWD’s water will be priced at P29.07 per cubic meter for the said average household or P0.029 per liter.

MCWD commits to the public that it will continually strive to improve its services, develop new infrastructure, aggressively source additional water and emphatically address the plight of its consumers in exchange for the trust given to MCWD through the support of the water tariff adjustment.    /PR