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Mora group seeks recall of water bills

Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:00

THE citizens' group Save CDO Now Movement yesterday called on the city's business groups to demand the recall the latest water bill consumers in the city have received. Businessman Tito Mora said there have been complaints about a sharp rise in the billings from the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD). Mora appealed to the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Oro Chamber), Misamis Oriental Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philexport, Promote CDO and similar groups to demand that COWD recall the latest water bill.

A group of businessmen also complained to this paper about the significant increase in their water bills. Some said the increase was 100 percent. Mora, however, complained of a "four-fold increase." "No amount of imagination or explanation can justify a four-fold increase. And we would like to add that a greater portion of the consumer's woes are traceable to the ineptitude of city governance who is empowered by law under the Local Government Code to control the prices of basic commodities in this time of calamity which up to now, our city is experiencing. We also call on all consumers to be vigilant. We do not have to pay for injustice," he said.

COWD officials were meeting yesterday afternoon when this paper tried to ask for a comment. Ladele Sagrado, COWD spokesperson, said consumers with complaints may bring their concerns to the facility's customer care service desk. "We will review... and implement billing adjustments [if] appropriate," Sagrado said in a text message.

The groups mentioned by Mora were among those that earlier asked President Aquino to order the Local Water Utilities Administration (Lwua) to shoulder the December 2011 water consumption of all flood victims, both residential and commercial. The others were the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Industries, Phividec Industries Association, Konsumanteng Kagayanon, Oro Bankers and Cagayan de Oro Hotel and Restaurant Association. The groups estimated that water consumption in December 2011 amounted to P25.3 million.