Metro Cebu mayors and Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia expressed support to the suspended Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) Board of Directors (BoD) led by chairman Jose Daluz III and suspended general manager Edgar Donoso after the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) suspended them and took over the management of the water district.

Garcia said that LWUA’s intervention is untimely and creates confusion among the employees and consumers of MCWD, as the province is facing the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

“We, the undersigned Mayors, comprising at least 70 percent of the communities served by the Metropolitan Cebu Water District, condemn the unlawful actions of Local Water Utilities Administration Atty. Jose Moises Salonga. His unwarranted intrusion into MCWD’s operations undermines the rule of law and jeopardizes vital water services for our constituents,” the manifesto said.

The document was signed by Mayors Sun Shimura, League of Municipalities-Cebu chapter president; Jonas Cortes, Mandaue City; Junard Chan, Lapu-Lapu City; Teresa Alegado; Municipality of Consolacion; Cesar Suan, Municipality of Cordova; Gerald Anthony Gullas, Talisay City; Felijur Quino, Municipality of Compostela; and Aljew Fernando Frasco, Municipality of Liloan.

The manifesto cited “Administrator Salonga’s actions rest on a blatant misinterpretation of Presidential Decree No. 198. The Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC, in Opinion No. 046, Series of 2024, has definitively ruled that LWUA may only intervene in a water district’s affairs in cases of loan default. MCWD has no such default, rendering LWUA’s intervention baseless.”

Furthermore, Administrator Salonga’s actions directly contradict the public commitment made by LWUA Chairman Ronnie Ong on 21 March 2024, to abide by the OGCC opinion. This broken promise exposes the LWUA leadership’s lack of integrity and sincerity.

Own premises

“We applaud Governor Gwendolyn F. Garcia’s efforts on 21 March 2024 to broker a peaceful resolution between LWUA and MCWD. Administrator Salonga’s actions sabotage this process, destabilizing MCWD and threatening the reliable water services our communities depend on,” the mayors stressed.

“We demand that the LWUA heed the law and its own premises. They must immediately halt this unwarranted intrusion into MCWD operations. They must allow MCWD to fulfill its vital function to our communities without fear of unlawful interference. We will not allow the LWUA to jeopardize the well-being of the Cebuanos,” the mayors insisted.

The mayors stand firmly behind the current MCWD leadership, chairman Jose Daluz III, board members Miguelito Pato and Jodelyn May Seno, and general manager Edgar Donoso, having the full support and confidence of our communities. Their track record of excellent water services speaks for itself.