Osmeña wants entire MCWD board replaced

Local

CEBU City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña has urged the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) to replace the entire board of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).

He warned of alleged mismanagement and corruption that he said could bring Metro Cebu to the brink of a water crisis.

In an interview on Thursday, August 7, days after Mayor Nestor Archival Sr. tapped him as the city’s “water czar,” Osmeña said the overhaul was necessary to address what he described as “very serious problems” within MCWD.

“I sent a letter to LUWA for a revamp of the Board of Directors of MCWD. There are all kinds of anomalies that I hear about,” Osmeña said. “Even if we get to the bottom of that, it doesn’t mean they’re solved.”

The vice mayor claimed that MCWD’s financial position has become so precarious that it risks failing to pay its bulk water suppliers, potentially prompting supply cutoffs.

“Our water suppliers will not be paid, so they will cut off the water. This is not a laughing matter. It has been so mismanaged,” he said.

As an example, Osmeña cited a recent disruption in Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova when a supplier allegedly could not pay its electricity bill, causing power and water service to be cut for several days in roughly a third of Lapu-Lapu.

He also accused the utility of paying “overpriced” rates for water while struggling to collect revenues and reduce non-revenue water losses.

“Very clearly, something is wrong. And very clearly, there are major signs of corruption,” he said. “I think they should all be put before a firing squad, including the managers. It’s gone out of control.”

Osmeña said the city is already looking into new water sources and talking to possible investors, but acknowledged that restoring the system’s health “cannot be done overnight.”

MCWD: No collapse, no shutdown

The following day, MCWD issued a statement dismissing Osmeña’s warnings as unfounded.

“There is no looming water shutdown, no financial collapse, and no basis for alarm,” it said on August 8.

The utility said water production and distribution across its service area remain “stable” and that operations are “under normal conditions.”

While some high-altitude or remote barangays still face low pressure or intermittent flow, MCWD said these areas are being prioritized for improvement through pipeline expansion, pressure management, and the development of new sources.

According to MCWD, production capacity has grown from 234,816 cubic meters per day in 2020 to 323,958 cubic meters in 2025, an increase of more than 89,000 cubic meters daily, and is projected to reach 400,000 cubic meters within three years.

Regarding the Lapu-Lapu–Cordova outage, MCWD said the incident was an “isolated” issue between bulk water supplier Mactan Rock Industries, Inc., and its electricity provider, Mactan Electric Company, and stressed that it “has consistently fulfilled its obligation to pay for water delivered by its suppliers.”

LUWA, the government agency that supervises water districts, has the authority to act on Osmeña’s request for a board overhaul. As of Friday, the vice mayor said he had yet to hear back.

“We’re in deep trouble,” Osmeña said. “The danger is clear. It’s not only clear, it’s likely to happen. Somebody’s got to do it, so I’ll do whatever I can.”(TGP)