IN a significant development, the Cagayan de Oro City Council has endorsed an ordinance granting Mayor Rolando Uy authority to petition for intervention in the ongoing legal conflicts involving the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD), Metropac Water Investments Corporation (MWIC), and Cagayan de Oro Bulk Water, Incorporated (Cobi).
During a special council session chaired by Vice Mayor Jocelyn Rodriguez on Thursday, May 16, Ordinance 2024-466 secured a decisive 14-4 vote in favor.
The decision emerges amidst two distinct civil cases: one instigated by COWD against MWIC, Cobi, and Rio Verde Water Consortium Incorporated, and another initiated by former councilor Enrico Salcedo and Dr. Ronnie Waniwan against Cobi, COWD, and Rio Verde, purportedly in the public interest.
During the same session, Majority Floor Leader Edgar Cabanlas was appointed as the City Council’s representative to monitor court proceedings relevant to the dispute.
The legal landscape intensified when Acting Executive Judge Ana Candida Casiño of Branch 17 of the Regional Trial Court of Misamis Oriental issued a temporary restraining order against Cobi, Rio Verde Water Consortium Inc., and MWIC on Tuesday, May 14.
This action followed Cobi’s cessation of water supply to COWD, catalyzing the current legal imbroglio.
