• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
An ordinance amending sections 7,9 and 10 of City Ordinance No. 08-14-668, or the Bacolod City Water Supply and Quality Monitoring Council, was passed by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod on first, second, and third reading on Wednesday.
Authored by Councilor Wilson Gamboa, Jr., the ordinance said City Ordinance No. 08-14-668 was passed last April 8, 2014 to ensure quality water supply in the City of Bacolod by establishing the “Bacolod City Water Supply and Quality Monitoring Council.”
The purposes of the Council are to come up with a master plan for effective water quality monitoring and identification of potable water source, establish water treatment facilities, to establish separate bacteriological laboratory in the City Health Office (CHO), to make sure that the primary need of residents for safe, potable and sufficient water supply will be perpetually met, and to ensure public health and general welfare, it said.
There is a need to include some important governmental offices and the PrimeWater Corporation as the primary water service provider in Bacolod City for the better formulation of policies concerning reliable and sufficient supply of clean water which is vital for the health, sanitation and overall well-being of the residents of Bacolod City, the ordinance said.
Under C.O. 08-14-668, the Local Water Supply and Quality Monitoring Council, chaired by the city mayor, is composed of 13 members. With the amendment, the council will now include representatives from the academic sector, water service provider, Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (DRRMO), Department of Health (DOH), and Liga ng mga Barangay. It also identifies their specific roles and responsibilities.
The technical working group (TWG) of the council under C.O. 08-14-668, is composed of the City Health Officer, BACIWA representative, City Engineering Office representative, private water laboratory head, and representative from the academic sector.
Under the amended ordinance, the TWG will now include the water service provider DRRMO, DOH, and Liga ng mga Barangay.*
