By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
IT will now be the Philippine Competition Commission en banc’s turn to hear the complaints of councilors Teodulfo Lao Jr., Enrico Salcedo, and Reuben Daba against Cagayan de Oro Water District and Metro Pacific Water Investments Corp..
Lawyer James Judith said this after a three-person panel of investigators of the PCC directed his clients to submit a copy of the minutes of a public hearing on the water shortage problem in the city.
The PCC order was issued on Feb. 21 after the hearing of the complaint.
The panel was presided by lawyer Ferdinand Redulla, PCC assistant director for enforcement. He signed the order together with lawyer Mariel Delfin, a panel member.
Councilor Salcedo said they were ordered to submit the document “as soon as possible.”
On Wednesday, the PCC panel tackled the complaints of the councilors against the joint venture agreement of COWD and Metro Pacific.
The councilors accused the two companies of “cartelizing” the water supply in the city by executing the joint venture agreement without a public bidding in order to allow other bulk water suppliers to bid.
Through their lawyer James Judith, the three councilors asked the PCC to nullify the agreement.
“Sulod sa 15 ka tuig sa akong pagka abogado, karon pako nakakita ug hearing nga grabe ka dugay nahuman. Gibali-bali kami’g cross-examine didto sa panel,” Judith told the Gold Star Daily without going into the details of the hearing.
Judith said he hoped the PCC would nullify the joint venture agreement to stop the “cartelization.”
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