Make sure we get the best

lifetro water projects

fl EP. Manny Lopez of Manila, chairman of the House Committee on Metro
Ff,Uanila Oevetoiiment, tras can'eO on Congress to revisit the Kaliwa Dam project
being pushed:bl the Metropolitan,Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWS$) to,
boost the. water.s.rlp:pl'y,for Metro Mqnila, ,a'need that drew widespread pub,lic :

attention this last summer when the water supply to many areas was'Cut, :, ,,
The Comrnission:on Audit(COA) has raised questions about the procedure',in.,
the bidding for the New Centennial Water Supply Project or Kaliwa,Dam, fdnded
by Official'Devtlopment Assistanee (ODA). The COA, in an Audit Obseruation
fr4emorandum addressed.to the MWSS administrator, questioned the quafifica-
tions of two of the three bidders. They^appear to have been included merely to
comply with the requirement of at least threg bidders under the Procurement
Law, the COA said. Congressman'Lopez asked the MWSS to comply.with the
COA findings before pushing through with the project.
During the fearings of the Lopez committee in the H,ouse last week, the MWSS
administrator said csnstruction of Kaliwa Dam will begin oRce an environmen-
tal compliance certificate is secured from the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources.
But the dam is getting stiff opposition from the Dumagat tribe which fears
that thelr community will be displaced by the dam. When completed, the dam's
water level will be 150 meters higher than the nearby Daraitan village and other
communities in Quezon province. A rival plan has been submitted by Japanese -

firm Global Utillity Development Corporation which will not raise the issue of
flooding.
Congiessman Lopez also asked the government to'restudy the funding for the
project. As an Official Development Assistarrce (ODA) project, China would pro-
vide Fl2.2 billion - around 64 percent of the F18.7-billion cost of the dam.. Under
PPP, Lopez said, the government would not have to shell out any amount.
The Kaliwa Dam is one of a number of projects that will boost the water
supply for Metro Manila's fast-growing populafion. We need all the additional
water supply we can get, but we must make sure that all the projects are
above:board in meeting all government requirements and that they are the
best choices from the'many proposals that have been made to solve our re-
gion's water problem. preg cp