BACIWA on Employees’ Options

September 1, 2020

The Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA) Board reiterated that no regular, casual or job order personnel will be displaced with the implementation of the Joint Venture Project with Primewater.

The Board, in a statement, said the joint venture adheres to the government’s Private Public Partnership Guidelines on Managing Employees which was approved by the PPP Governing Board through Resolution No. 2018-03-07 on March 22, 2018.

The said guidelines, the Board said, offer options for affected personnel under a PPP or joint venture scheme, in consultation with the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

In line with the guidelines, the Board said, there are options for all its employees.

BACIWA, it said has two categories of regular employees – employees hired before December 31, 1999, and those hired from January 1, 2000 up to the present.

The Board bared the following options for all regular employees not included in the right sizing of BACIWA organization to monitor the JV activities and perform the other remaining functions regardless of date of employment with BACIWA:

a. Transfer or be absorbed by Primewater as regular employee without diminution in pay bringing with them their length of service from BACIWA inclusive of Casual status of employment.

b. Availment of Early Retirement Incentive Program/Financial Assistance (ERIP) from Primewater equivalent to 250% of his basic monthly salary under the first tranche of SSL-5 multiplied by his length of service rendered in BACIWA inclusive of Casual status of employment.

In the statement, the Baciwa Board also bared options for casual employees regardless of date of employment in BACIWA:

Option A – Regardless of educational attainment, take a pre-employment exam of Primewater. If passed, the employee will be transfered or be absorbed by Primewater as probationary for six months and as a regular employee after the probationary period without diminution in pay, bringing with them their length of service from BACIWA as Casual employee.

If will fail the exam, the Board said, the casual employee will be employed by the Service Provider of Primewater and will be permanent after six months probationary period.

Option B – Avail of Early Retirement Incentive Program/Financial Assistance (ERIP) from Primewater equivalent to 125% of his basic monthly salary multiplied by his length of service rendered in BACIWA on Casual status.

For Job Order Personnel: Option A – All Job Order Personnel who are graduates of a 3 or 4-year course shall, take a pre-employment exam of Primewater. If passed:
Transfer/be absorbed by Primewater as probationary for 6 months and as a regular employee after the probationary period without diminution in pay. Length of service with Primewater starts at Day 1 upon regularization.

If failed the exam and those who are not graduates of a 3 or 4-year course will be employed by the Service Provider of Primewater and will be permanent after 6 months probationary period. Length of service with Primewater starts at Day 1 upon regularization.

The Board, in the same statement also disclosed other details regarding salaries, allowances and benefits.

1. All retiring permanent employees hired before Dec. 31, 1999 can avail of the BACIWA Retirement’s Incentive equivalent to 150% of the monthly basic salary multiplied by their length of service in years to be paid by BACIWA on top of the ERIP from Primewater. The Retirement Incentive including other benefits enjoyed prior to December 31, 1999
were not allowed/authorized by the Dept. of Budget & Management (DBM) to employees hired on Year 2000 to the present.

2. For employees hired January 1, 2000 up to the present and absorbed by Primewater, all benefits and allowances received by those hired before Dec. 31, 1999 will be added to their basic pay and special allowances like the following:

a. Performance Based Bonus – 1 month basic Pay instead of 35% maximum (at present, BACIWA has not met the parameters to
qualify for the grant of PBB); b. Financial Assistance of 1.5 x monthly basic pay; c. Grocery Allowance of P20,000 per year; d. Rice Allowance of 2,000 per month.

3. For all absorbed employees of Primewater, a retirement benefit equivalent to one month basic salary at the time of retirement multiplied by length of service including length of service rendered in BACIWA (Casual + Regular years only).

4. At the end of the JV Contract, separated employees of Primewater shall be rehired by BACIWA in accordance with the prevailing organizational structure, qualification standards and compensation set by the appropriate government agencies at the time of turn over.

WATER RATES
Earlier, BACIWA assured its concessionaires that there will be “no irresponsible or indiscriminate increase in water rates” under the Baciwa-Primewater joint venture.

Engr. Jenelyn Yap-Gemora, Assistant General Manager for Operations of the water district said there is no truth to talks that there will be significant increase now that the water district has signed a partnership deal with Prime Water.

“Increase in water rates can only be made by the joint venture upon the review of BACIWA, and the approval of the Local water Utilities Administration (LWUA) and after the required public hearings,” Gemora said.
“Any water rate increase is therefore regulated by LWUA and not at the discretion of the joint venture partnership. Actually, the tariff needs to be increased with or without the Public Private Partnership (PPP),” she added.

Gemora said that based on the proposed tariff adjustment in the 25 years of Prime Water, there are only three instances that they will ask LWUA for an increase. On November, 2022, November 2025, and November 2030.

“Granting it will be approved, the cost of water per drum is very minimal. Existing per drum rate as of now is only P4.16. By November 2030, if approved, the water rate per drum is only P7.78 until 2044, inclusive of VAT,” Gemora said.*