ILOILO City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog is eyeing water rationing as an option to serve areas seriously affected by water shortage, especially in the city proper.
He also acted with dispatch and called Local Waterworks Utilities Administration (LWUA) chairman Rene Villa regarding the critical water supply situation. He said almost 50 percent of barangays in Iloilo proper have no water supply from the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD).
Villa, an Ilonggo, immediately called up MIWD general manager Le Jayme Jalbuena and ordered the district to do everything and solve the water crisis immediately even if palliative only, as well as the problem that made hostage 22 barangays in the city proper and affected more than 50,000 people.
Mabilog said he is requiring MIWD to come up with a contingency plan and explain why there is not enough water supply when the country is still in the wet season with several rains.
Through his spokesman Jeffrey Celis, Mabilog said among the contingency measures will be the emergency water supply rationing, which the MIWD is capable of doing so with it having several units of big water tankers.
“MIWD has the capacity for temporary outsourcing units to deliver water to areas especially in 12 waterfront barangays. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) also assured assistance to deliver water in the affected barangays,” Celis said.
Regarding the truck ban that prohibits delivery trunks and tankers to the city, Celis said the MIWD had never coordinated with the City Mayor’s Office regarding exemption from the truck ban.
“The city mayor assured that the Traffic Management and Transport Regulation Office (TMTRO) will allow the entry of MIWD tankers to deliver water here,” Celis said.
Aside from the 22 affected barangays out of 45 in the city proper, the water crisis is also felt in some areas in Jaro, Molo and Arevalo.
Seriously affected with water shortage are the villages of Tanza Baybay, Tanza Timawa Zone 1, Tanza Timawa Zone 2, Rizal Palapala 1, Rizal Palapala 2, De la Rama, Muelle Loney, Gen. Hughes, Concepcion-Montes, Zamora-Milleza, Monica, Ma Clara, San Jose and Ortiz.
MIWD is currently cleaning the heavy siltation at its main reservoir in Maasin and its sedimentation basin in Sta. Barbara towns.
