MWSS board members ‘basically wrote their own checks’

Board members of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) were allegedly given “token" bonuses worth a quarter of a million pesos each once their terms of office ended. "It can be said that they [MWSS board members] basically write their own checks," a reliable source from the government water agency told reporters Tuesday, a day after President Aquino criticized MWSS trustees in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) for receiving P2.5 million each year in benefits and emoluments. The information was confirmed by another GMANews.TV source. "Token bonus" refers to the going-away gift given to MWSS board members when their terms of office end. Text messages requesting clarification on the matter were sent to MWSS Officer-In-Charge Macra Cruz, former MWSS Chairman Diosdado Allado, and former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra who once served as an MWSS board member. They had yet to reply as of posting time. The water agency has a nine-member board of trustees. Individuals appointed to the MWSS Board, a body which formulates water policies for Metro Manila, enjoy a five-year term. However, since 2007, those nominated to the board held only temporary appointments, which can be withdrawn immediately, the GMANews.TV source said. "Appointments to the board have been temporary so that if a member refuses to follow instructions of the 'higher-ups,' or refuses to get along, his appointment can be terminated," the GMANews.TV source said. RATA and discretionary funds Besides the "token" bonus, the MWSS board members also receive additional allowances, according to MWSS sources privy to the perks board members gave themselves. These allowances include a discretionary fund worth P60,000 a month received by the MWSS Chairman, the source added. Meanwhile, P50,000 each is allegedly received every month by the vice-chairman and other board members. A separate representational and transportation allowance (RATA) is also supposedly given to board members: P37,400 to the Chairman, P33,000 to the vice-chairman, and P28,000 to the board members. During every board meeting, scheduled twice a month, each board member receives P14,000 as per diem, the source said, corroborating President Aquino's assertions in his SONA speech. "Attending [MWSS] board of trustees and board committee meetings, and you get fourteen thousand pesos. This totals ninety eight thousand pesos a month. They also get an annual grocery incentive of eighty thousand pesos," Aquino said in the English translation of his SONA speech delivered on Monday. The source added that board meetings are sometimes held twice a day, thus entitling them to receive P28,000 in one day. During committee meetings, each board member is also entitled to an additional P5,000 per diem, the source said. It was not immediately clear which set of the MWSS Board approved which emoluments, since board resolutions are under lock and key and are very difficult to access, according to the source. The excessive bonuses and perks reportedly began during the Arroyo administration, as Aquino's SONA expose implied. Two vacancies The current MWSS board members are listed as follows:

• Ferdinand Mahusay
• Raul Ragandang
• Virgilio Angelo
• Santiago Gabionza
• Albert Balingit
• Aurora Arnaez
• Oscar Garcia

GMANews.TV sent text messages to Gabionza, Balingit, and Mahusay asking for comment but no replies have been received so far. There are two vacancies in the current board. No one has been named as replacement for the position vacated by DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson, who quit the MWSS Board Chairmanship owing to conflict of interest allegations. No one has also been named head of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), which serves as the lawyer for government corporations. The OGCC has a seat in the MWSS Board since the MWSS is a government-owned corporation. Meanwhile, the GMANews.TV source defended the benefits received by MWSS workers, saying these benefits were received by other government-owned and controlled corporations. However, the source was unable to identify which among the GOCCs also give various benefits to their employees. —JV, GMANews.TV