Iloilo Capitol mum on Aboitiz bulk water proposal

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

“No comment.”

This was the brief response of Atty. Dennis Ventilacion, head of the Iloilo provincial government’s legal department, when asked by Daily Guardian about the merits of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc.’s unsolicited proposal (USP) for the Iloilo Bulk Water Supply Project.

Ventilacion explained that the province’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Board had agreed not to disclose any information and to treat the proposal with confidentiality.

He confirmed that the province is currently conducting a detailed evaluation of the project.

“The instruction to us is to not discuss the merits, only the procedure. The procedure now is they are in the process of evaluation,” he said.

“That is the instruction of the PPP Board because we are now deliberating. As much as possible, the evaluation should be handled confidentially,” he added.

The PPP Center’s website indicated that, as of August 22, it had not received a decision from the provincial government on whether to proceed with a detailed evaluation of the project.

According to Section 54 of the PPP Code, the provincial government had exceeded the 10-day deadline to submit its decision on whether to continue processing the USP as endorsed by the PPP Center or reject it.

The code does not specify what happens if the deadline lapses.

Ventilacion admitted that the province missed the 10-day deadline and requested an extension from the PPP Center, which was not granted.

Despite this, he said the provincial government decided to continue processing the USP as permitted by the PPP Center.

The PPP Center has granted the provincial government 90 calendar days to complete its detailed evaluation of Aboitiz’s proposal.

During this period, the provincial government will decide whether to accept the proposal and proceed to negotiations.

Ventilacion also noted that no other unsolicited proposals have been submitted for the bulk water project.

In contrast, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas stated that the Aboitiz proposal to the city government involves selling treated bulk water to the city, which will then resell it to water distributors and third-party purchasers.

Treñas described the proposal as complicated, as it differs from the usual PPP schemes handled by the city government.

On August 19, the city government rejected Aboitiz’s unsolicited proposal. However, Treñas said the proposal is still under reconsideration.

The water supply project, valued at ₱8.45 billion, is expected to provide 80 million liters of potable treated water per day to Iloilo over a 33-year concession period.