Senator Ronald “Bato" Dela Rosa, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Marawi City Rehabilitation and Victims Compensation, sees a much faster implementation of the bulk water project component of the Marawi City rehabilitation program.
This developed as the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) and the Philippine Army (PA), two of the implementing agencies of the water project, broke the impasse and paved the way for the fast-tracking of the project.
“I just talked with our very supportive General Romeo Brawner, who is here with us…he will be allowing now the final moving on of the project within the Philippine Army camp because that is where our bulk system, our bulk water project is,” lawyer Vicente Homer Revil, LWUA’s newly-appointed administrator, told the committee during the hearing last Wednesday.
Brawner, PA commanding general, said the water tank would be placed at the highest peak of the army camp in Barangay Kapantaran, or the old city hall, which would house a battalion, while the LWUA water treatment facility would be constructed at the lower area of the camp.
In September last year, in a similar hearing, the panel noted that the bulk water project could not proceed because of some misunderstanding between LWUA and the PA, including the demand of the PA for a free water supply to the camp and the lack of an administrator of LWUA.
With the conflict already settled, as well as with the appointment of Revil, there is a need now to have a tripartite agreement between LWUA, PA, and the local water district of Marawi City with a possible lease agreement that gives the army a 25 percent discount
“We will now move on with the survey and with the construction. And also, itutuloy na po natin iyong (we willl go ahead with the) agreement between the Philippine Army, LWUA and the Water District of Marawi City, Your Honors,” Brawner told the committee.
He said they are now awaiting the authority of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for the expropriation cases since not all the lands to be made part of the camp are expropriated.
“I understand na mayroon na pong letter from the OSG giving us that authority, so kahit na hindi pa po nabayaran iyong ibang mga may-ari ng lupa (even if there are some property owners not paid), we can go on already with the construction, Mr. Chairman, Your Honors,” Brawner said.
Dela Rosa asked lawyer Michael Pio Cua, OSG State Solicitor, during the hearing to give Brawner’s concern the utmost attention.