Removal of ‘illegal allowances’ sparks protests — MWSS head

The head of water regulating agency Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) rebutted allegations from disgruntled MWSS employees of continued anomalies in the agency saying that employees are protesting after the removal of their “illegal allowances” which the Commission on Audit (CoA) disallowed.

MWSS chairman Ramon Alikpala said these allowances have no legal basis and many of those who will lose these perks have taken to feeding media a lot of wrong information.

“For instance, a MWSS driver gets P36,000 per month. This has already been brought down from P97,000 but still it is double what other government drivers get,” he said.

The MWSS board also recently removed the P150 per day food allowance for its employees because the Commission on (CoA) said there was no legal basis for it.

In turn, he said the disgruntled employees have started to sow disinformation including alleged excessive bonuses and per diem for the board, which they further alleged meet many times a day to earn more.

“For the record, the board only meets twice a month. So there is a lot of wrong information being bandied about, apparently to stop our housecleaning reforms,” he said.

Alikpala also clarified that MWSS hired 162 foresters to take care of the Ipo watershed with proper approvals from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Alikpala also corrected the following: On the allegation that the MWSS board deliberately meets several times a day to receive per diems in excess of the maximum allowed by law, Alikpala said Executive Order (EO) 24 sets an annual ceiling of P576,000 total compensation for all board of trustees and committee meetings.

“Thus, Board members may meet any number of times but will never receive more than the prescribed ceiling. The board is willing to open its books to allow anyone to check if any board member has exceeded the maximum,” Alikpala said.

Allegation: 436 consultants were hired, resulting in duplication of work.

He added less than 30 consultants were hired by MWSS on a contract basis to undertake projects that the agency’s existing staff cannot do.

Hiring is done for the need to get a third eye objective point of view to assess the integrity of financial systems through a Financial Audit, the need to take on additional work because of accelerated new projects like watershed management, the need to immediately identify the top priorities and directions for water security and to help mobilize the organization towards these, the need to review the organization to support the Water Security Legacy and the need to review the rate rebasing process, financial model and long standing issue that have not been addressed, Alikpala said.

On claims that consultant compensations were made retroactive to March 2011, Alikpala said consultants were paid for actual services rendered, but were paid after several months due to processing delays.

MWSS recently completed the second phase of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s (MWSS) Angat Water Utilization and Aqueduct Improvement Project (AWUAIP) at the La Mesa Dam which according to President Aquino will answer the dream of every Filipino to have clean potable water.

In his speech keynoting the projects inauguration rites, Aquino said this dream would not have been made possible if not for the unrelenting efforts of the concerned government agencies and stakeholders to plug the “leaks” plaguing the water industry.

He thanked Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson, Alikpala and MWSS Administrator Gerardo Esquivel for being instrumental in implementing clear-cut and decisive reforms in the water sector.

The President said the trio had been key to uplifting the MWSS from being mired in the P34-million debt in 2010 to earning a P330-million profit in 2011.

He pointed out that the agency was able to pay its obligation of P236 million to more than 1,000 MWSS retirees as well as a P150-million dividend to government coffers.

He assured the Filipino citizenry that the government remains committed to provide them the basic necessities, such as water, food and shelter.

Built at a cost of P1.3 billion, the AWUAIP Phase 2 involves the construction of a new 9.9-km aqueduct (Aqueduct No. 6) and the rehabilitation of the deteriorated section of Aqueduct No. 5 that will allow the more efficient conveyance of raw water from Angat Dam to the La Mesa and Balara water treatment plants.

The AWUAIP, which consists of three development project phases, aims to recoup losses of 394 million liters of water a day due to leakages.

The first phase, which was completed on February 2006, involved the construction of a 5.5-km by-pass of the deteriorated section of the existing Aqueduct No. 5.

The amount of P1.5 billion was invested for Phase 1 which was financed by the Philippine government.

The second and third phases include the construction of the 9.9 kms. section of Aqueduct No. 6, the rehabilitation of the Aqueduct No.5 and the construction of interconnection facilities.

The total investment of P5.2 billion for the AWUAIP was financed through the Preferential Buyer’s Credit of China Export-Import Bank.
Once completed, the AWUAIP will ensure the safety and integrity of raw water conveyance from Angat Dam to the La Mesa and Balara treatment plants, thus maintaining security of water supply for the MWSS service area covering 12 to 14 million people.