ILOILO CITY — Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW) reiterated that it has taken steps to solve the water problems in Metro Iloilo amidst continued criticism from the Iloilo City government.
A WATER tanker of Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW) in Iloilo.
“We are correcting infrastructure challenges that span generations—something that cannot be reversed overnight,” said MPIW Chief Operating Officer David Berba.
MPIW, a joint venture between government-owned Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) and Metro Pacific Water (MPW) of tycoon Manny Pangilinan, is accused of breaking promises of upgrading water infrastructure and increasing adequate water supply.
Berba reiterated that MPIW has spent more than P4.2 billion in “real and audited infrastructure investments” since its 2019 joint venture with MIWD.
MPIW has spent P1.3 billion for infrastructure upgrades focused on pipeline rehabilitation, leak detection, and service expansion so far this year to curb non-revenue water (NRW) and improve water efficiency.
But these has not stopped former Mayor Jerry Treñas in the remaining months of his administration and Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu, his daughter, from criticizing MPIW following the proposal of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. (AIC) to become a bulk water supplier.
MPIW has opposed the entry of Aboitiz as a bulk water supplier and warned it would drastically increase prices that would eventually be passed on to consumers.
MPIW denied that 73 percent of households in Iloilo City do not have connection to potable water supply. This represents mostly far-flung households in towns in Iloilo province under MPIW.
MPIW is constructing a desalination plant in Iloilo City. Once finished, around 66.5 million liters of potable water will be produced from saltwater. It will serve consumers in Iloilo City and the neighboring towns in Iloilo.