Aquino admin to review Laiban Dam project

The Aquino administration will review the controversial Laiban Dam project amid the water shortage besetting Metro Manila. But President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III was quick to add that other proposals to address the water shortage were being considered, as he expressed apprehension over the project. "That is one of the proposals on taking care of the water situation but there are other solutions to it. I have to await the recommendations of the various departments," Aquino said in an ambush interview with reporters Monday afternoon. Since the Laiban dam project was met with much criticism, Aquino said his Cabinet will review the proposal thoroughly. "Mahaba rin yung critisismo saka oposisyon to Laiban dam so I think it behooves us to review all the different proposals to take care of the water needs of Metro Manila," Aquino said. The Laiban dam project aims to supplement the long-term water supply requirements of Metro Manila by building a dam using the Kaliwa river basin in Tanay, Rizal. According to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), the dam will provide about 21 cubic meters per second or 1,830 million liters per day of water supply and about 25 megawatts for hydropower generation. San Miguel Bulk Water Corp., a unit of food and beverage conglomerate San Miguel Corp., last year offered to put up the dam. But the alleged secrecy in the approval of the deal between San Miguel and the MWSS led to the collapse of talks and the eventual rejection of San Miguel's offer. "It's apparent that the negotiations between the MWSS and the SMBWCI were hastily done without the benefit of an open bidding, considering the project would involve more than P48-billion pesos of taxpayers money," said Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casino last year, adding that there was "utter brazenness and lack of transparency" in the deal. Since talks with San Miguel bogged down, water concessionaires Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services have both expressed interest in taking on the project. Incidentally, two of Aquino's Cabinet members were former top executives in the two water concessionaires. Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras was president of Manila Water Co. Inc before taking on the energy portfolio, while Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson was the president and chief executive officer of Maynilad. Aquino's Cabinet is currently in a meeting in Malacañang Palace, with the water shortage expected to be one of the topics of discussion. Among the other proposals to solve the water solution being considered by the Aquino government is the tapping of Laguna de Bay as a water source and accepting assistance from the private sector in rehabilitating the Angat Dam, which provides 97 percent of the domestic water supply of Metro Manila and irrigates about 27,000 hectares of rice land in Bulacan where it is situated. — RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV