CAGAYAN de Oro City 1st District Rep. Lordan Suan asserted that the legal opinion issued by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) holds more weight than the Department of Justice’s stance in the ongoing dispute between the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD) and its bulk water supplier, Cagayan de Oro Bulkwater Incorporated (Cobi).

Suan emphasized that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had previously offered to mediate in the conflict after COWD refused to pay nearly half a billion pesos in debt to Cobi.

“We had only requested the President’s assistance, and he decided to have the matter investigated by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA),” Suan stated in the local dialect.

DEFIANT. Employees of Cagayan de Oro Water District hang a banner below the facade of its main office in Corrales St., downtown Cagayan de Oro. Notably absent last Wednesday was the daily picket rally that had become a fixture outside COWD’s main office on Corrales Street. Photo by Shiela Mae Butlig

Founded in 1935, the OGCC is the primary legal office for government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), their subsidiaries, and other related entities.

“For me, the OGCC opinion carries more weight because they oversee all GOCCs, including water districts,” Suan told reporters.

The COWD is currently grappling with several issues, the most pressing of which is a persistently high rate of non-revenue water, often exceeding 50% annually.

Additionally, the Commission on Audit (COA) has highlighted various irregularities within the city-owned utility, including declining revenues since 2018, a financial loss of PHP 32 million in 2022, and dormant accounts amounting to PHP 987,067.31.

On July 30, the OGCC issued an opinion favoring a complete takeover of COWD by the LWUA, further intensifying the ongoing dispute.