FVR calls for synergy among local officials to push Cebu-Bohol water project

CEBU CITY, Sept. 24 (PNA) –- Former president Fidel V. Ramos has called for synergy among local officials in Central Visayas to push forward proposals to bring water from Bohol Province to Cebu.

He emphasized the importance of cooperation among the local communities, barangay and local government officials to bring in foreign investors to fund the project and address the impending water crisis.

With the future of many generations at stake, he said the issue on water should not be politicized.

But considering the political situation in Metro Cebu where some officials are at odds with each other, Ramos suggested the creation of a multi-agency body to oversee the planning in Cebu.

”When it comes to water, it should not be subject to politics because this will benefit not the politicians but the many generations after us. If they can’t work together, then there are government agencies that can take care of that,” he told reporters.

He suggested having the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Agriculture, Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Energy (DOE) and other agencies to come up with an executive policy on the matter.

The body, he said, should come up with a joint policy covering Central Visayas, and lay down the plans together with the Regional Development Council (RDC).

Ramos revived the proposal for Metro Cebu to source water from Bohol, first proposed during his presidency in 1995.

”If you’re looking at Cebu province, you could face a shortage in three to five years. Therefore, you have to tap all possible sources…A lot of things are possible now because of technology and certain concepts that are available,” he said.

While he supported the proposal in the 1990s, believing it would have been feasible at that time, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena said he is no longer keen on pushing for it. It will be better to source water from small suppliers rather than the big players, he said.

Osmena said he is in favor of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District’s (MCWD) current plans, which include sourcing water from local suppliers who deliver water directly to areas that have no access.

”The direction of MCWD is fine with me. What MCWD is doing now is that they are no longer looking for the big sources. It’s the complete reverse, which I think is wonderful. They just look for areas where there is no water, and have small companies supply whatever is needed,” Osmena said.

He warned that heavily funded water suppliers have a very high risk of bankruptcy because of the high operational costs involved.

”The big ones are high-risk because it costs them a lot of money to set up and there is a major risk because there is a minimum off-take purchase requirement. Even if MCWD cannot dispose of that, they will have to pay for it, and that creates a major problem, he said.

Osmena recalled he was the one who brought in the foreign consortium ANGLO and Kinhill Brown and Root as a possible supplier for the Bohol-Cebu Water Supply Project in 1995.

The project would have supplied water to Metro Cebu from Inabanga town in Bohol Province through submarine pipelines, which would have cost P3.2 billion at that time.

While they have not studied how much it will cost to implement it now, Ramos said the cost can be kept to a minimum if local officials work together to bring in the most competitive supplier.