Baciwa’s secrets

By: Modesto P. Sa-onoy

LAST week I cited the possibility that the water source of the Bacolod City Water might be compromised because of the court decision that there is a real owner of the land in which the Boro-boro springs are located. The latest news is that the owner will now be taking legal steps to recover his property. This will have an impact on the present negotiations between Baciwa and Prime Water for a publicly declared joint venture.

There is another twist regarding Baciwa’s water sources. Baciwa draws also from the spring on the land owned by the Henares family. From two independent sources, the information says that in the event Baciwa is privatized, the Henares family will demand payment. As of now, the water district does not pay because the water was donated by the family to the city. If the district becomes a private concern, then that donation is considered violated and considered annulled.

There are other water sources but Baciwa is not inclined to get them for what reasons we don’t know for the moment, but we will soon know as more data get out of the Baciwa’s sanctum.

While we wait for developments in the water sources, there are several issues relative to the planned joint venture with Prime Water that the public wants answers. Baciwa, specifically the Board of Directors, has refused to disclose the details of its negotiations with Prime Water that have lingered for months.

I don’t blame Prime Water for insisting on the best terms for its business because in this endeavor, it expects reasonable returns to its investments. So far, the public does not know and Baciwa does not reveal how much or whether Prime Water will be investing in the joint venture or will just piggyback on what Baciwa has.

After over two years of discussing the issues against Baciwa, it seems clear now why the water district is negotiating in secret and resisting every effort to keep matters under the lid. In its website, Baciwa cites Freedom of Information as the reason for declaring certain matters but these data are best for general consumption rather than revealing the fundamentals, particularly in the negotiations with Prime Water.

We can understand this secrecy because the recent documents I got indicate that the joint venture is a give-away in favor of Prime Water. The information somehow gives a reason for non-disclosure of the details lest it be scuttled.

Last year, a businessman came to Bacolod with a good business proposal and without asking for details, a city government official simply asked the bottom-line: “Pila akon da?” How much is in it for me? If he had been offered how much and the deal went through the gauntlet of public scrutiny, the city official would have to lie and hide the details lest the “how much” is exposed. It is not the businessman’s obligation to defend the project.

The several pages of documents that had been sent to me address the issues that the public had been demanding but the Board and some Baciwa officials are hedging or lying about in order to parry the question. And so, the issues drag on without any possibility that they will be answered. The documents from within the water district make sense.

As usual in this column, anybody is welcome to refute the contents of these documents, but I will not entertain unknown sources. Our purpose here is to clarify and not unhinged people. The issues that demand clarification are valid, but the answers are not ex-cathedra.

It is also to the benefit of Prime Water that the issues are cleared before it gets deeper into the district because if these matters remained unresolved Prime Water will have more problems than just delivering water and collecting fees. There will be a lot of legal challenges like the issue of water sources even if Prime Water had reportedly dealt with Bacolod Bulk Water Inc.

People who are answering the questions or defending this planned joint venture are the members of the board and close aides of Mayor Evelio Leonardia. I wonder why he should be defending the actions of the board unless this joint venture has his blessings or under his instructions. I mentioned this suspicion and it was not denied. Recent events only strengthen suspicion.

We’ll continue tomorrow.