Incomplete papers delayed desalination plant permit – OBO

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Iloilo City government’s Office of the Building Official (OBO) denied claims that delays in issuing permits caused the slow progress of the proposed desalination plant project in Barangay Ingore, La Paz.

In a statement issued Wednesday, May 6, the OBO clarified that the processing period for the building permit application of the 66.5-million-liter-per-day Seawater Reverse Osmosis Iloilo Desalination Facility of Metro Pacific Iloilo Desalination Corporation (MPIDC) depends on the submission of “complete and compliant requirements.”

The MPIDC is affiliated with Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW), the joint-venture company that distributes water to most of Iloilo City and the Iloilo towns of Oton, Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Maasin, San Miguel, Pavia, and Leganes.

“Any delays arising from the handling or retention of documents by the applicant’s authorized processor fall outside the control of this Office and are not included in the official computation of processing time,” the statement read.

The clarification came after earlier reports quoted MPIW Chief Operating Officer Angelo David Berba, who attributed the delays in the desalination plant’s development to the slow processing of permits at the OBO.

Berba reportedly sought assistance from Iloilo City Councilor Romel Duron, chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s public utilities committee, to help expedite the processing of permits for the project.

Based on the OBO’s records, the desalination facility’s application was officially received on March 26, 2026, and classified as “highly technical” because of its nature as an offshore utility infrastructure project with specific mechanical requirements.

“It is subject to standard technical evaluation procedures in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations,” the OBO said.

The OBO said its evaluation of documents — conducted alongside the Zoning Office, the City Assessor’s Office, and the Bureau of Fire Protection — was completed on April 21, accounting for holidays and weekends during the period.

A compliance sheet detailing deficiencies and lacking requirements was released to the project’s authorized processor on April 22.

Records showed that MPIW requested an initial evaluation for the project on Nov. 28, 2025, with initial findings released on Dec. 23, 2025.

Despite the initial findings, OBO head Mavi Gustilo said in a separate interview Thursday that MPIW still had several deficiencies in its application documents.

Among the deficiencies were the absence of a contract of lease for the project site, the lack of a Certificate of No Objection from the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), and incomplete architectural, plumbing, structural, electrical, mechanical, and electronics plans.

As of May 4, Gustilo said MPIW had yet to comply with the deficiencies identified in the compliance sheet, prompting the OBO to convene a coordination meeting with representatives of the water utility.

During the meeting, the OBO extended technical assistance by identifying deficiencies in the submitted documents and allowing certain requirements to be processed in parallel to help speed up the application.

Gustilo said the OBO granted several considerations to the project proponents, including separating the permit application for the administrative building from the desalination system structures, and allowing the filing of a separate mechanical permit once the plans become available.

She added that MPIW was also asked to submit an affidavit of undertaking within 30 days to comply with legal easement requirements and secure the necessary CENRO certification.

The desalination plant, touted by project proponents as the largest desalination facility in the country, broke ground on Feb. 21, 2025, and is targeted to become operational by 2027.

The PHP 5.5 billion desalination project will use advanced reverse osmosis technology to convert seawater into potable water to address Iloilo’s growing demand for clean water.

Once operational, the facility is expected to benefit more than 400,000 residents by providing Metro Iloilo with a more reliable and consistent water supply.