ILOILO CITY, Philippines  — Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog is asking the management of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) for an explanation of the water shortage in the city.

According to Mabilog’s political liaison officer, Jeffrey Celiz, the mayor wants MIWD general manager Le Jayme Jalbuena to divulge what the real water situation is in Iloilo City.

He said that Mabilog considers it the MIWD’s responsibility to inform not only the city government, but the approximately 50,000 city consumers who could not avail of water, especially drinking water.

Residents in more than 20 villages in Iloilo’s city proper district as well as portions of Arevalo, Mandurriao and Molo districts have been inconvenienced from lack of stable water supply for over a month. Many residents in those areas have been forced to buy water from private water stations.

Celiz also disclosed that Mabilog has sought the help of new Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) chairman, Rene Villa.

Villa reportedly then gave Jalbuena the directive to “do everything possible” to immediately resolve the lack of water supply for city residents.

Meanwhile, the Iloilo mayor is likewise urging the faster implementation of the bulk water supply project.

The MIWD recently signed a bulk water supply contract covering a ten-year period with firms FLO Water Resources Iloilo Inc., Marro Holdings Corp., Prime Water Ventures Corp., and Solerex Water Technologies Inc.