• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
The Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA) Board of Directors passed Resolution No. 62, series of 2025, on Friday, declaring the expiration of the term of office of BACIWA General Manager Mona Dia Jardin, on the grounds of loss of confidence.
BACIWA Chairperson Atty. Sonya Verdeflor said that the resolution was passed due to the lack of transparency, failure of submission of accomplishment reports, and questionable transactions of Jardin during her term.
Verdeflor highlighted that one of the major issues Jardin is facing is the purchase of a two-hectare eco-park in Brgy. Alangilan, Bacolod City, using the Productivity Assessment Charge (PAC) funds amounting to P20 million, which were not money from or intended for BACIWA.
“The Productivity Assessment Charge [fund] is a charge from establishments that extract water from their own wells. They don’t have Primewater billing, but 50 cents per cubic meter is assessed to them because they get water from the environment,” Verdeflor said.
Since the charged money was for environmental usage, the funds acquired must be used for environmental projects only, she added.
Moreover, Verdeflor cited that the title of the purchased property was not yet transferred to BACIWA, due to the lack of documents and clearances that were supposedly entrusted to Jardin.
She also disclosed that there are lined-up development activities that the BACIWA is planning for the property, but they were stuck with the processing of requirements due to the absence of the necessary documents.
Another reason for the board resolution was the controversial Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) of Baciwa with PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation (PWIC), and the dismissal of 59 employees after the takeover in November 2020.
Verdeflor clarified that Jardin was not terminated, but her term is dependent on the trust and confidence of the board; and once the board loses trust and confidence toward the general manager, her term will automatically end.
Based on the resolution, Jardin will be replaced by Engr. Michael Soliva as acting general manager.
REFUSES TO STEP DOWN
Faced with the resolution passed by the board of directors on August 22, declaring the expiration of her term of office, Jardin sent a letter to the board on the same day, containing a message of her refusal to step down from her position, according to Vedeflor.
In her letter, Jardin questioned the legalities of the resolution, insisting that the grounds for ‘loss of confidence’ was without legal and moral basis.
“Hours after the resolution was passed, she sent us a letter that she will not vacate her position because she considers our resolution illegal,” Verdeflor said.
In her letter, Jardin sought a formal investigation into her case, to be conducted by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.
Meanwhile, Verdeflor insisted that the resolution was not illegal, citing the rules of the law, under Presidential Decree No. 198 section 23.
“The term of a general manager, according to the Supreme Court, is dependent upon the trust of the board. Her term expires the moment the trust and confidence of the board is lost; when it ends, her term ends,” she clarified.
The board is currently coordinating with the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) for intervention and is seeking another governing body to conduct an investigation into the case.*
