Water

Ric Maulion .

THE good news first. Nice, at least a leak was discovered and fixed a month after the bill from the Cagayan de Oro Water District. The bad news is that I have to pay a prohibitive P6, 6240-add-on because of that undetected leak that resulted in the waste of 227 cubic meters. That reading was a far cry from the usual 50 or less cubic-meter standard water consumption of three household members.

COWD, as a standard operating procedure, actually deducts 25 percent of the total leakage adjustment; the consumer pays the required 75 percent.  Ask them why just 25 percent and you’d get the deafening, “It’s what the Board of Directors’ decision!” In other words, when COWD is not monitoring your leakage problem and even if the consumption reaches P100,000,  just prepare the non-negotiable P75-thousand payment. It’s simply atrocious, isn’t it?

What can consumers do? We are under the mercy of COWD people who don’t care about the predicament of their consumers who pay their handsome salaries, perks and other freebies.

Worse is when you get in touch with a COWD director and bring your complaint to that person via social media. You receive nothing for an answer. You then start asking why these people have FB accounts in the first place when they cannot even respond with a gesture of courtesy and respect toward their consumers. Hello, are you there, Ed Montalvan?

Why in the world are COWD charges much compare to what people in Manila are paying? My kiddos at Treetop Condo in Mandaluyong are just paying, at most, P300 a month for their “nuclear” family needs! Here, we are paying P2,000 to P3,000 for 30 to 50 cubic meters. Porbida nga kawat ba sab sa atubang!

It might be that the 53-percent additional charge is the missing variable, factoring in the final billing as what ex-councilor Bob Ocio suspected.

Notice, too, that the water supply operations slowed them of not, stopped because of repairs conducted by the COWD all over. But look closely how water consumption spiked to the maximum during that period. And here we are not given sufficient and  convincing answers about this “miracle” that happened right before our eyes.

COWD, kindly shape up and give us better services. Palihug. None of your field workers so far bothered to check my water meter for more than two decades save for this last.

But I was told anyway that it was the work given to one Mr. de los Santos here which make me wonder on your inaptitude of securing the consumers’ best interest.

Since water is considered a basic service to the people, would you not mind using a little democratic space either in your office or on social media to answer some questions?

Where would we vent our ire and speak our minds on waterelated issues for better water service and just payment if not to you who have been given that mandate by all stakeholders?