LOCAL consumer group Water Watch Advocate urged Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) to explain the rationale of its move to increase the cost of Service Connection Maintenance Fee (SCMF) by P13.
On January 12, the Board of Directors approved Resolution No.009 adjusting the SCMF from P2 to P15 effective February 2018 billing.
Wennie Sancho, secretary general of Water Watch Advocate, yesterday said the water district should explain to the consumers and justify the reasons for the increase.
Sancho said there should be a constant dialogue with water advocates, non-government organization (NGO), homeowners associations, and other stakeholders.
“This transparency meeting would enable Baciwa to improve its services to the people,” he said, adding that the consumers should participate in the decision-making process that affects their welfare.
The water district, through its general manager Juliana Carbon, had earlier said the SCMF covers the costs of water meter, elevation, testing, replacements, and other maintenance services.
She said that the SCMF was only P2 since 1973, and that it should now be increased mainly because of the higher cost of maintaining the service connections or the water meters.
In the previous years, there were several attempts to increase the fee.
Carbon said it did not push through because of the water rate increase.
Baciwa is set to conduct information dissemination to its almost 53,000 member-consumers regarding the upward adjustment in the maintenance fee.
Sancho said the water district even needs to hold a general assembly so that the consumers will be fully informed about any development in its operation, including the bulk water supply project for purposes of transparency and accountability.
The consumers should also be informed on the possible implications of the tax reform law to the payment and services of Baciwa, he added.
