STATE auditors have recommended that the Cabanatuan City Water District (CCWD) should stop the implementation of a higher bill rate to customers, saying the tariff adjustment did not go through the required processes.
In the 2020 audit report on the water district released last March 16, the Commission on Audit said the new rate was approved by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) even if the proper review body should have been the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).
The COA cited provisions of Presidential Decree No. 168, as amended, and Letter of Instruction No. 700, s. 1978 governing the operation and control of water systems as well regulation of water rates.
It stressed that despite entering into a joint venture agreement with PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation, the CCWD retained its entity as a water district regulated by the LWUA.
“Under Section 63 of PD 198, as amended, the rates or charges established by local water district … shall be subject to review by LWUA to establish compliance. Thus, any proposal for increase in the tariff should be submitted to LWUA for review,” auditors pointed out.
The COA noted that the CCWD has sought the opinion of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) which in turn submitted issue before the Department of Justice.
Even as the question is unresolved, the audit team reported that the first tranche of the new billing rate was already implemented on CCWD’s customers in November 2019.
The COA reminded the CCWD that the OGCC had supported the preservation of the status quo until such time that the legal issue is resolved with finality by the Office of the Secretary of the DOJ.
The general manager of the CCWD, in response, assured the COA that Primewater is willing to refund all the excess water bills they have collected based on the NWRB approved rate if the DOJ upholds the authority of the LWUA.
However, the audit team found the reply unacceptable and insisted that the collection of higher billing be halted.
“We recommended that the Members of the Board of Directors and the General Manager to stop the implementation of Board Resolution No. 2019-028 approving the water tariff rates approved and granted by the NWRB to Primewater until the approval of the appropriate regulatory body is obtained,” auditors said.
