Profiting from Necessities: The case of the Bacolod City Water District

Today, dismissed workers of the Bacolod City Water District Employees Union are bound to mobilize in front of the Civil Service Commission to pressure the government to release the decision on their reinstatement as workers of the district due to their stance against the Joint Venture Agreement between BACIWA and Prime Water.

How did this happen?

In 2020, BACIWA signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Prime Water, a corporation led by the Villar family, to privatize the district in the hopes of ‘improving water services’ in Bacolod City. However, citizens of Bacolod city exposed the non-potability of water coming out of their faucets and the cost increase since the corporate takeover, thus highlighting the disenfranchisement of communities from their right to adequate and quality standard of living and access to potable water.

The case of BACIWA is an example of how corporate takeover of public utilities hinders the people from freely accessing necessities.

According to the Water for the People Network, there are approximately more than 100 Joint Venture Agreements between water districts and private water concessionaires owned by the elite few such as Villar, Razon, Co, and more. As these private concessionaires boost their profit, consumers in the informal sector are burdened further as they are compelled to pay more and accept poor services.

Social services should be accessible to all. Privatizing it not only disenfranchises people from being productive but also disbars the realization of a more inclusive society.

Inklusibo stands against the corporate takeover of social services and the unjust dismissal of workers protesting for their rights.

Serbisyo sa tao, huwag gawing negosyo!