THE unsolicited proposal submitted by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. to Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) will lead to the privatization of the water district, an official of Baciwa Employees Union (BEU) said.
Claudio Salmo, president of BEU, said yesterday that on Monday, they received a letter from Baciwa general manager Mario Macatangay, inviting them to discuss the unsolicited proposal of Metropac Water Investment Corp. for a joint venture corporation with Baciwa.
He added that if Baciwa will entertain the proposal of Metropac, it will already lead to the privatization of the water district because 80 percent of its profit will go to the private entity and only 20 percent will be left to Baciwa.
Salmo said that part of Metropac proposal titles are rehabilitation, and build operate, and transfer.
Officials of Baciwa and the employees union were given 60 days to decide whether to accept or reject the proposal, he added.
Salmo said they are still reviewing the documents submitted by Metropac, adding that they will release their decision after their meeting with the officers of Metropac on Friday.
He pointed out that if Metropac will join Baciwa, about 500 Baciwa employees will lose their jobs because a new management will take over.
“It will depend on Metropac if they will rehire the Baciwa employees,” he added.
Salmo said the takeover will also affect the water rate because Metropac can implement a rate increase anytime.
