MCWD is facing one of its biggest challenges yet after losing P760 million in 2025. With leaking pipes, rising water costs, and a possible El Niño dry spell ahead, can Cebu avoid a water crisis?
In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, MCWD Board Chairman Ruben Almendras breaks down the utility’s recovery plan, the impact on Cebu households, and what consumers can expect in the coming months.
Join the discussion LIVE. 💧
#BeyondTheHeadlines #MCWD #CebuWaterCrisis #ElNiño #MetroCebu #WaterSupply #CebuNews #SunStarCebu
LOWER THIRDS:
MCWD fights P760-M loss
In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, MCWD Board Chairman Ruben Almendras breaks down the utility’s recovery plan, the impact on Cebu households, and what consumers can expect in the coming months.
Join the discussion LIVE. 💧
#BeyondTheHeadlines #MCWD #CebuWaterCrisis #ElNiño #MetroCebu #WaterSupply #CebuNews #SunStarCebu
LOWER THIRDS:
MCWD fights P760-M loss
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NewsTranscript
00:23Good afternoon, welcome to Beyond the Headlines, I'm DJ Moises.
00:26Today, we discuss an issue that affects every household, every business, and the long-term future of Metro Cebu.
00:35Water.
00:36In recent months, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District, or MCWD, has found itself under closer public scrutiny following reports of
00:46major financial losses,
00:48high levels of non-water revenue, and repeated findings from the Commission on Audit involving billions of pesos in assets
00:57and accounting concerns.
00:58After a brief recovery in 2023, MCWD's net income dropped from P48.52 million down to just P5.13 million
01:11in 2024.
01:14That is an 89.42% drop in only 12 months.
01:19Then, it recorded a net loss of more than P700 million in 2025.
01:25For the third straight year, the Commission on Audit also issued a qualified opinion on MCWD's financial statements.
01:33COA flagged approximately P7.1 billion in property, plant, and equipment accounts,
01:39with accounting discrepancies including P2.8 billion worth of assets and balances that could not be fully verified.
01:48MCWD has also been confronting operational pressures linked to non-revenue water, or NRW, which remains at around 30%.
01:59This means nearly one-third of treated water produced does not generate revenue because of leaks, illegal connections, inaccurate metering,
02:10and system losses.
02:12Another major issue is supply sourcing.
02:15MCWD acknowledged that more than half of the water it distributes now comes from bulk water suppliers,
02:22which is significantly more expensive compared to traditional sources such as Buhisan, Mananga, and MCWD's own wells.
02:31This has raised larger questions about long-term sustainability, dependence on external suppliers, and the future impact on consumers.
02:41Is Metro Cebu's growing demand beginning to outpace its long-term water capacity?
02:48Can infrastructure and system losses still be corrected fast enough?
02:53Will future generations face even greater water insecurity?
02:57Via Zoom is Ruben Almendras, who was appointed to the MCWD board in December 2025 and elected chairman in 2026.
03:07Good afternoon, Chairman Almendras, and welcome to Beyond the Headlines.
03:12Hello, good afternoon.
03:14Good morning, Blay.
03:16Yeah.
03:17Good morning.
03:18Okay.
03:19Sige.
03:20So, my first question here, Chairman Almendras, has something to do with the decreased revenue in 2024.
03:28That's about 89.42%, and then eventually reporting a net loss in 2025.
03:35What do you think are the biggest structural reasons behind these losses?
03:43Okay.
03:44I was started there in 2024.
03:46I came in at the end of 2025, December, and I started to function as chairman of the board in
03:55January 2026.
03:58Yeah, I'm not very sure what happened in 2024, but I took a look at the financials and the operations
04:05of 2025, and the biggest factor was, you know, there had no gross margin.
04:11They were, the revenue from water source, from water is lower than the cost of the water.
04:18So, in fact, I was joking, well, I remember, I'm not, see the business, you don't have a gross margin.
04:24So, sales pa lang minus your cost of water, I can't see nadaan.
04:30So, plus all the expenses, so you get a 764 million net loss in one year.
04:38That's humongous.
04:39And, you know, I've seen, I've seen in the board where, you know, there are losses, 100 million, which we
04:46tried to recover, and we did recover.
04:47But this one, in my lifetime, is one of the biggest losses I've seen for a single company in a
04:54single year.
04:56Anyway, aside from the net, no operating, no gross margin, there were also a lot of expenses incurred in 2025,
05:07especially bulk water.
05:10Of course, bulk water, you know, at the time, most of the supply, you're correct, most of the supply were
05:16coming from bulk water suppliers, private water suppliers.
05:20It reached that more than 50%, I think 54, 55%, were more expensive bulk water, rather than the lower cost
05:29MCWD water from its own dumps and deep wells.
05:36So, the thing we had to do was to arrest immediately the human wage in cash and the human wage
05:44in revenue losses to turn around the company.
05:48And I was requested by the mayor and the vice mayor to help out.
05:54So, I agreed to sit in the board and got elected as chairman in January 2026.
06:02Okay, so, the big task was to turn this around in three years.
06:08It's a pleasurable loss, and it's on the retained earnings.
06:13MCWD is a big corporation.
06:15I mean, you know, 5 billion, 5 billion plus resources and an equity of about 2 billion, 2 billion.
06:25So, the retained earnings was hit by 760 million loss, dropped to about slightly over 2 billion, which we have
06:36to cover because, you know, you cannot keep on losing that much money without getting into problems.
06:43So, the first idea, you know, the first thing I had to do was confront the people, the employees, explain
06:53to the staff what was the situation.
06:55And it pained me that, you know, somehow the rank and file, particularly, the department says you're aware, but I
07:05told them, did you realize that you are losing this much money in a month to month?
07:11I mean, 760 million, that means you have to be losing, what, 50, 60 million a month?
07:16And you don't tell me, nobody knew about it, the department didn't know about it, but I told them, look,
07:22I had to speak before the employees in the auditorium one morning in the January after I saw the financials.
07:34I told them, look, at the rate we are losing, you know, in three years we would really be in
07:41trouble.
07:41And being in trouble, that means the government has to step in and this company will be absorbed by somebody
07:50or sold to somebody.
07:51So, the first thing I had to do was get the people informed, get the employees informed, and get them
07:59really to go in the same direction.
08:04The brilliant people in MCW, they have good engineers, good accountants, and to get them on our side, I had
08:13to explain to them the situation and when they realized it, including the union people, I met with the union,
08:19told them, look, I also, I'm also disappointed and surprised that the union,
08:26who represented the union, who represented the union, who represented the union, did not make a fuss when you were
08:31losing money like this.
08:33So, we got everybody on the ball and we addressed the whole thing.
08:39The good news is, January to March, net loss is only 47 million.
08:46In fact, we lost only 7 million in March.
08:50We are going to make a profit already in April and hopefully we will make a profit for this year
08:58and cover up the last year's losses.
09:02But it took a lot of effort from everybody.
09:05I'm very grateful that everybody cooperated because, you know, this cannot be done without everybody being in the ball.
09:13We're really in dipshit.
09:16It's very difficult to swim out of the dipshit.
09:22So, it's an all-hands-on-deck situation, which is true enough, and everybody helps.
09:27So, good governance, the usual financial things that we have to do, like, you know, generating more revenues, improving the
09:37collection efficiency,
09:40managing the payables, in March already, we shore up the cash balances by almost 200 million.
09:51So, this means, you know, we'll be up to date with all our payables, but fair is fair.
09:59I told you, everybody, all the payables, the same policy, that's not payable to anybody.
10:0490 days after the invoice date, you get paid all your uncontested billings, whether this is supplies or bulk water.
10:14It surprised me that the bulk water suppliers, you know, also assisted.
10:20They said, no, no problem, they will agree to it.
10:23The other thing that we had to do was to reduce the man-revenue water,
10:27and the bulk of the man-revenue water loss was coming from the bulk water supply
10:33because, you know, land-revenue water has three factors, actually.
10:38Pressure, of course, the leaks, but the pressure and the volume supply.
10:44So, I asked the engineering and production people, look, you design an optimum mix of bulk water supply
10:54and in-house water coming from our wells, and individually to the bulk water supply,
11:00depending on which geographic area it is going.
11:05You know, by that simple thing, we cut land-revenue water by 2%.
11:10And end of March, we got 29, from 32-something.
11:15And that translates, you know what translates, that translates to about $16 million a month.
11:24So, it turned around and up.
11:27And, yes, please.
11:30So, at least, because it's good to note that the losses have significantly been reduced
11:37on the first quarter of this year, financial losses, I mean.
11:40And then, there's also a drop in terms of non-revenue water.
11:47You've mentioned 32% earlier, and you've also mentioned that the target is to turn MCWD around in three years.
11:56What are the targets that you have set as far as non-revenue water, which is currently at 32%,
12:04like you mentioned, in the coming two years?
12:07And how do you intend to lower that?
12:10As of March, it's 29-something.
12:12And I told them, you know, I want you to post in the bulletin board and in the bandy clock
12:19that the target for this year is 25.
12:23And then the industry standard, Chairman Almandras, is?
12:2825.
12:29We'll already pass the local water utility standard.
12:33Okay.
12:35Worldwide standard is below 20.
12:39Manila water is already below 20.
12:42Manila is almost 40.
12:48I was chairman of MCWD before.
12:51Do you know that Nagasaki and Hiroshima have less than 10% non-revenue water?
12:59Do you know why?
13:01Because actually, all the pipelines were new after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
13:06They installed stainless steel pipes.
13:08But really, it's not rocket science, especially with new technology and new materials.
13:19UPBC, HDPE, high-density polyethylene, and UPBC are pretty good.
13:24They don't rush.
13:25So that's one of our targets.
13:28We will replace all the steel pipes, especially in Maktan, which is easily corrosive by saltwater.
13:36We're going to replace them with new PVC pipes.
13:38In fact, we started it, and now that the ASEAN is finished, the mayor, Cindy, and Congressman Ahung Chan agreed
13:49already that they'll give us the excavation permit for this.
13:52Because we have to lay a total of, what, easily this year, about 14 kilometers of pipelines, main pipelines, to
14:05address the water shortage in the Maktan Island.
14:10And also, to accept the salineated water coming from a private contractor, Vivant, which is ready to run and provide
14:1820,000 cubic meters of water.
14:20Except that the pipelines were not ready, so they could not accept it.
14:26In fact, day one was April 29, supposed to accept.
14:30Now, we took over, we sent us a letter already, why we can accept.
14:36Although, look, it's not our fault, because the contractors were given on and off excavation permit by the city of
14:45Lapu-Lapu and Maktan.
14:46I had a meeting with Congressman Chan and Cindy, the mayor, together with our GM, the ex-Lapu, and it
14:58was a very fruitful meeting.
14:59They said, can you just wait until the ASEAN meeting is finished?
15:03And it's with the new ground rules that every excavation at night has to be covered, and there are no
15:11heavy equipment on top of the road that will block the traffic.
15:15So, this week, our GM, the ex-Lapid, will probably go to Maktan to follow up on the excavation permit,
15:25because we want to start laying the pipes already.
15:29Today, today is May, before December, I want that 11, 14-kilometer pipeline in place, and pump 20,000 cubic
15:40meters, or at least 10,000 cubic meters to Lapu-Lapu, address all the Lapu-Lapu shortage of water.
15:48So, we're getting there.
15:49Let's talk also, I know this happened way before you, but let's talk also about the 7.1 billion pesos
15:58in property, plant, and equipment, which was flagged by COA, and 2.8 billion of which could not even be
16:07verified.
16:08What were your findings so far when you went on board regarding this one?
16:15In fact, we actually answered the finance people to already address this issue with COA.
16:22Okay, but being a businessman and, you know, a financial guy, I mean, I used to teach finance in UP.
16:29The problem with the assets of MCB grant verified is, okay, all the mainline and transmission assets that are buried
16:39cannot really be verified.
16:41I mean, it's under the ground.
16:43I thought, look, the fact that the water is flowing in that direction, and, you know, it is being received
16:51by the end user, that means the pipe is there.
16:53So, what we can do is ask the COA to join our engineering team, our production people, every time there's
17:01excavation.
17:02So, you can verify it, what do you think you see?
17:06You have to practically confirm the existence of the assets.
17:11Okay.
17:12The problem with MCWD is year to year, they have been doing it to disaccumulate it.
17:17But this can be resolved, especially since we are going to replace a lot of the mainlines and pipelines into
17:24UPVC pipes or HDPE pipes.
17:27This can't be resolved.
17:29I figured out, in fact, we told already our finance group people, you address the issue incrementally.
17:38Address first the big ones that they cannot verify because, you know, that's the job of the auditor, to verify
17:44whether those assets are really there.
17:45So, I don't think it's a problem.
17:48And if you revalue the assets of MCWD in terms of present value and everything has gone up, those deficits
17:59should be covered.
18:00In fact, I was looking at the financials two weeks ago.
18:04There is a revaluation component on the balance sheet already, $882 million.
18:11And I presume these are the real estate assets, including the building of MCWD.
18:19MCWD, prime property, you know, and you're the plus and dependencia.
18:24I think they revalue the one that we are holding office in.
18:27But we have a property beside it that was rented by the city hall before.
18:33We just got proposals to redevelop that building into a commercial building.
18:39And I told them, look, send your proposal because as a government corporation, we have either we ask for a
18:48competitive bidding on this thing or we ask for a challenge.
18:52Tell them, send your proposal, what you want to do, how much you're going to rent the building.
18:57And then under government regulation, we either ask for a challenger or we bid this out.
19:03And you bid, so everything is above board.
19:06So you are anticipating, because this is among the findings for three years in a row.
19:14So you're anticipating that these findings will eventually be reduced.
19:21And then at least starting 2026, we will not be seeing this flagged transactions moving forward.
19:32It will not be totally, not in one year, three years maybe.
19:35Three years.
19:36We're trying to diminish all this exception.
19:39These are valuation of assets.
19:41These are balance sheet items.
19:44We're quite confident on the profit and loss statement, the income statement.
19:49You know, you can easily verify.
19:52You know, we're properly accruing all the revenues, properly accruing all the payables.
19:57So on the P&L side, we're quite sure there are very few exceptions.
20:01On the balance sheet side, the issue is verification of those assets and valuation of those assets.
20:09But like I said, the good thing is a lot of assets, especially the property assets, are probably appreciated in
20:16value.
20:17Now, let's move towards another observation, which you also mentioned in the beginning part of the interview.
20:27And that is in 2025, the average selling per cubic meter is lower than the average cost of water.
20:37What's the driver for this one?
20:39Is this a shortage of supply with respect to demand and that MCWD was not able to develop its own
20:49sources and now relying to bulk water suppliers?
20:53Yes, you're probably right.
20:56When I left MCWD as chairman before in 2000-something, 20 years ago anyway,
21:03we had a 50-year plan on development and distribution.
21:11And I think the successive boards and management took the ECW out of not developing its own water sources,
21:20but just buying bulk water supply from private sources.
21:26The problem is, when I look at it, I was wondering, what the heck, how did they evaluate
21:34that you have to accept water, not desalinated water at 73 pesos per cubic meter,
21:42bulk water supply from deep wells and surface, not salty water,
21:48from inland sources and you're still paying 53 pesos?
21:53Because you should have compared it to the cost of MCWD water.
21:58The water from MCWD's own wells is costing 22 pesos.
22:06From the Mananga and the Buisendam, it's costing 28 pesos.
22:12I mean, that's just a benchmark.
22:15I mean, you know, what makes them better than the engineers of MCWD that their water costs twice as much?
22:23If MCWD can produce water from its own wells at less than 23 pesos and less than 30 pesos from
22:31its surface water,
22:32what the heck, what the point of accepting water from, you know, from inland Shibu at 53, 54 pesos?
22:41So, I mean, this already, the contract was signed, approved with the board.
22:44So, there's a situation now where we're looking for surface water and the well water that is cheaper or closer
22:56to the cost that MCWD can produce.
22:58So, the first thing I did was I told them, review all the wells of MCWD.
23:03There are seven of them.
23:04Reactivate all those that can be reactivated.
23:07Oh, true enough, we have to reactivate it already fine.
23:10And then, automatically, our average cost, our weighted average cost of water went down.
23:14I told them, look, there's nothing we can do on the desalinated water and the bulk water supply from Carmen
23:22and other sources in Bocot,
23:25I mean, in Lilluan and Compostela and even in the mountain of Shibu, because the contract has been signed.
23:33And there is a minimum offtake and a minimum price.
23:37I told them, look, let's review them one by one and negotiate with them that if ever we tap them
23:45for additional bulk water supply,
23:47it has to be at a more reasonable price.
23:51So, we're looking at this now, and I'm glad all the bulk water supply people, they realize I told them,
23:59look,
24:00it is to your advantage that MCWD is financially healthy because we are your customers.
24:07You know, if we get in trouble, then, you know, everybody gets in trouble.
24:12So, we have a very good discussion with the bulk water supply people.
24:15We even tempered their minimum levels.
24:20We start with the minimum level, and since there's an Il Nino, we'll tell you, okay, by lots of 1
24:31,000 cubic meters or 2,000 cubic meters.
24:34In the meantime, everybody goes back to the minimum offtake.
24:38So, we start minimum offtake.
24:39And then, now that, you know, the dry season came in, we told one bulk, okay, in your case, we
24:47need another 5,000 from you
24:48because, you know, some of the suppliers from the other are not coming in.
24:54So, that's what we do.
24:55So, we give and take.
24:57We dialogue with them.
24:58And we're even doing that to the desalinated water suppliers.
25:05Give and take.
25:05So, are we saying, Chairman Almendras, that we don't have an issue with natural water supply, no?
25:15And our reliance to bulk water suppliers such as Divant, no?
25:22Who is into desalination, it's only because MCWD was not able to develop its own well.
25:29But if not for that, we don't have a problem in Cebu with water supply.
25:36I know we have a problem with water supply.
25:39MCWD produced, including sourcing from bulk water supply, which is now down to 40, well, only, now the balance is
25:48in favor.
25:4956% of the water are coming now from MCWD sources, 44% from private suppliers.
25:57Okay.
25:58That's 300,000 cubic meters a day.
26:00Like you said earlier, at 30%, that's almost one, you know, slightly one-third is lost, huh?
26:09As Nandre Binyo Water, which we're dying to address.
26:12MCWD supplies only, I suspect, because we don't have enough data from private wells.
26:19We supply only, I think, 55% of the total requirements of Metro Cebu.
26:25Look, subdivisions in Metro Cebu, they have their own water systems.
26:29You know, the high-end, even the low-end, they have their own water systems.
26:33And they have, I presume, their permits from the Natural Water Resource Board.
26:37And the systems are quite efficient because it's a contiguous, small area.
26:43You know, when you're running that, your systems loss is in the vicinity of 10%, 15%.
26:48I used to run, I used to be present in our subdivision, and I did that.
26:53And then, look, you build it like, you know, in terms of per cubic meter, no more flat rate.
26:59And this is the rate that we should be charging.
27:03And our systems loss was only 10%.
27:05It works for small, compact communities.
27:08So, small, compact communities, they have their own water system.
27:11They probably supply Cebu, what, 40%, 45% of the total requirements.
27:17And look at this.
27:18Take a look at all these condominiums that are going up.
27:23Half of them are getting from us.
27:25Half of them have their own wells.
27:28So, to address the long-term supply, I was very happy.
27:32I read in the newspaper, although I knew this last month
27:36because I saw the briefing of the DPWH on building the small dams in the mountains of Cebu.
27:46The future for Metro Cebu Water is to build those seven dams proposed by DPWH.
27:52It catches all the flow of the water from the mountains.
27:58And that's what DPWH wants to do.
28:00Build a lot of mini dams, which can be used for water,
28:05retarding the downflow of water, stop the flooding in Metro Cebu,
28:09improve the groundwater level,
28:14and also provides water for MCWD.
28:17Because once those dams are there, we will just, in fact,
28:21once somebody proposed to build that, we sit down with them.
28:24Okay, we can estimate.
28:26We can tell you what is the volume that can be stored in that dam.
28:30We are willing to buy either as a joint venture or as a supplier,
28:36if you're willing to spend for everything.
28:39But either way, we can do a joint venture.
28:41We do whatever is going to build a dam,
28:42or just buy the water stored in the dam.
28:45So, in the next, this is actually part of it,
28:49what Monday the president said,
28:50this was the 30-year plan of water supply in Metro Cebu.
28:54Because when I left MCWD and the dam,
28:58the Mananga Dam was,
29:01do we know, not the Buhisa,
29:04the Nusaran Dam was turned down by the Philippine government
29:08because it required a sovereign guarantee.
29:12The alternative was really a series of small dams.
29:16That's why I was so happy when DPWH came up with that proposal.
29:19In fact, when I saw the video,
29:21I told our people,
29:22get me a copy of that video.
29:24Send a copy to the mayor.
29:26Send a copy.
29:26The governor was there.
29:27I was sitting beside the governor.
29:29Governor, this is good.
29:31And I went to the undersecretary of DPWH.
29:34Look, I need your permission.
29:36For anybody who has to propose a bulk water supply to Metro Cebu,
29:40I want to give them a copy of your video.
29:43Because I will tell them,
29:44take a look at the seven areas that DPWH has pinpointed
29:48as the inundated areas in the mountain of Cebu.
29:51You go there, make a proposal to us,
29:54we can sit down with you.
29:56You know, that will provide
30:00one million cubic meters per day to Metro Cebu.
30:04So, good for the next 30 years.
30:08So, given these seven dams,
30:11what would be the projected timeline
30:14as to when will this be completed
30:17and how they will impact the 55% current level
30:23that MCWD is supplying,
30:26given the overall demand in Cebu?
30:30Okay.
30:32Cebu is growing very fast.
30:33There are still a lot of condominiums
30:35that are being put up.
30:36Correct.
30:37And some of them are banking on us to supply them.
30:40That's why we have to accelerate the supply also.
30:44So,
30:47I recently had a meeting
30:49with the University of San Carlos Water Resource Center
30:52because we compared notes
30:54on the water levels of Cebu
30:58and the salinity line.
31:01I told them,
31:0220 years ago,
31:05the area near,
31:07before Frente,
31:08that's Casino Español,
31:10I told them,
31:11look,
31:11we were worried already
31:13on the salinity level
31:15reaching that point.
31:18And we have monitoring wells
31:20all over the Cebu city.
31:21And in fact,
31:22from Compostela up to Talisa,
31:25we have monitoring wells.
31:26We keep track of the water levels
31:28and the salinity level.
31:30Now,
31:30you know,
31:31I'm surprised that it does not move up.
31:34It's still within the Ramos area
31:36that the water is starting to get salty.
31:40It's amazing.
31:41I told them,
31:42but there is an assurance
31:43that with all these buildings
31:45that are being put up
31:46and,
31:47you know,
31:47everybody paves cement
31:49the roads.
31:51It will move up.
31:52Once it moves
31:53near the capital area,
31:54we will really have a problem.
31:56So,
31:57I want to have those dams,
31:59mini dams,
32:00in place
32:01before that happens.
32:02And when will this be,
32:04Chairman Almendras?
32:06Within five years.
32:08In fact,
32:09I want to,
32:10MCWD,
32:11next year,
32:12I want to explore already.
32:13We have to build,
32:14we will build one of them.
32:16We don't have the resources
32:17to build all seven of them.
32:18But if,
32:19no private sector
32:20comes up ahead.
32:22Although,
32:22there's one very big company
32:23that approached us already,
32:25the Santa Clara Group.
32:26I told them,
32:27look,
32:28it's either you do one
32:29or we do one together
32:30to show to everybody
32:31that this is the future
32:33for the water supply
32:34or mattresses.
32:34and I have,
32:37we have,
32:37we arranged already
32:39a 2.5 billion
32:41bank line
32:42with Land Bank
32:43and
32:44Land Bank
32:45and DBP.
32:46That one,
32:47I'm going to use that money.
32:48If not,
32:49we have to,
32:50we have to,
32:51January,
32:52I want to make sure
32:53we will lay the groundwork
32:55of putting one of those
32:56mini dams
32:57and tapping the water.
32:59that.
32:59And we have,
33:00we have,
33:01I'm not,
33:02we have,
33:02since I sat,
33:03we're not going to draw
33:05any,
33:07any of the loans
33:08of Land Bank
33:08and DBP
33:09because we can generate
33:11enough cash
33:12and resources right now.
33:13But if we make a dam,
33:15that one,
33:16we have to borrow.
33:17But for pipeline,
33:18we've got the money
33:19for the pipeline.
33:20Right now,
33:21our cash flow
33:22is improved.
33:23We have,
33:23we have something like
33:24600 plus million
33:25in cash already
33:26for pipeline
33:27that can be done already.
33:29It's good actually
33:30to know that
33:31at least we are
33:33anticipating
33:33seven dams,
33:35no?
33:35And one is
33:37most likely
33:38starting
33:38January of
33:402027.
33:41The other one
33:42also that I'd like
33:43to clarify
33:44is
33:45Pag-asa experts
33:46say that
33:47there's a 79%
33:49chance of
33:50an
33:50El Nino
33:51dry spell,
33:52no?
33:52Starting later
33:54this year.
33:56Are we
33:57anticipating
33:58more shortage
33:59of water
34:00when this
34:01happens?
34:02Or we can
34:02say that
34:03MCWD
34:04is prepared
34:05for this
34:06should it
34:07happen?
34:08We submitted
34:09a report
34:10contingency plan
34:11to the mayor
34:12already
34:12and the vice mayor
34:14and we already
34:16tapped all the
34:16additional sources
34:17that we have
34:19to supply
34:20Metro Cebu.
34:22Pag-asa also
34:23briefed us
34:24on the weather
34:24and he
34:25said this
34:26is going to
34:27be a long
34:27El Nino
34:28it will last
34:28up to
34:29January
34:29but he
34:30said that
34:30there will
34:31be
34:31intermittent
34:31rains
34:32though
34:32because
34:33there will
34:33be
34:33typhons
34:34that's
34:34coming in.
34:35So although
34:35this is going
34:36to be a
34:36long
34:38dry season
34:39which extends
34:39up to
34:40January
34:41we can
34:41also expect
34:42rain
34:42but we
34:43have a
34:43contingent
34:44plan
34:44enough.
34:45In fact
34:48instead of
34:50the mainland
34:51Cebu
34:52adding water
34:54to
34:54Bactan
34:55if we
34:56can tap
34:56the
34:57desalinated
34:57water
34:59it
35:01will not
35:02be
35:02totally
35:03accepted
35:03our
35:04pipelines
35:05cannot
35:05totally
35:05accept
35:05the
35:06volume
35:06we
35:07pump
35:07it
35:07back
35:07to
35:08Metro
35:08Cebu
35:08because
35:09we
35:09have
35:09pipelines
35:10in
35:10the
35:10two
35:10bridges
35:12so
35:12we
35:13can
35:14flow back
35:14the
35:15water
35:15excess
35:15water
35:16in
35:16Mactan
35:16to
35:16Mandawi
35:17so
35:17even
35:18to
35:18that
35:18extent
35:19we
35:19have
35:19that
35:19contingency
35:20plan
35:20already
35:21so
35:21it
35:21sounds
35:22to
35:22me
35:22that
35:23the
35:24contingency
35:24plan
35:25largely
35:25involves
35:26desalination
35:28and are
35:29we also
35:30saying
35:30that
35:31desalination
35:32that means
35:33we are
35:33going
35:34to tap
35:35bulk
35:35water
35:36suppliers
35:36this
35:37time
35:37and how
35:38will
35:38that
35:38impact
35:39eventually
35:41on the
35:41cost
35:42of
35:42water
35:43versus
35:43the
35:44sale
35:44of
35:45water
35:46okay
35:46the
35:47contingency
35:48plan
35:48also
35:48includes
35:50fresh
35:50water
35:51from
35:51the
35:51mountain
35:52of
35:52Cebu
35:52we have
35:53actually
35:53one
35:54bulk
35:54water
35:54supplier
35:55in the
35:55mountain
35:56of
35:56Cebu
35:56GE
35:56Hydro
35:57and I
35:58know
35:58they can
35:59easily
35:59add
35:59another
36:0010,000
36:01cubic meters
36:02it's
36:03expensive
36:04but
36:04if
36:05necessary
36:05we
36:05can
36:05we
36:06already
36:06tap
36:07them
36:07to
36:07add
36:08another
36:085,000
36:08starting
36:10April
36:11no
36:11starting
36:12May
36:12and
36:13then
36:13we
36:14can
36:14ask
36:15them
36:15to
36:15tap
36:15another
36:155,000
36:17cubic meters
36:18if
36:18necessary
36:19and
36:20then
36:20the
36:21additional
36:22wells
36:22that
36:22we
36:23have
36:26reactivated
36:27are
36:27coming in
36:28at
36:28also
36:285,000
36:29cubic
36:29meters
36:30in
36:30fact
36:30the
36:30other
36:31day
36:32I
36:32was
36:33supposed
36:33to
36:33go to
36:33Compostela
36:34to
36:34inaugurate
36:35an
36:35MCWD
36:36well
36:37that
36:37has
36:39ribbon
36:40cutting
36:40the
36:40usual
36:41and
36:42one
36:43of
36:43our
36:44board
36:45directors
36:45will
36:45represent
36:46MCWD
36:46because
36:47the
36:47mayor
36:47might
36:48be
36:48there
36:49and
36:49that
36:49well
36:50can
36:51generate
36:51500
36:52cubic
36:52meters
36:52a day
36:54one
36:55well
36:55the
36:56other
36:56five
36:57wells
36:57that
36:57we
36:57have
36:57reactivated
36:58will
36:58generate
36:59another
36:593,500
37:00cubic
37:01meters
37:01a day
37:01and
37:03right
37:04now
37:04the
37:04water
37:06level
37:07on
37:07those
37:07wells
37:07are
37:08quite
37:08stable
37:08and
37:09it
37:09surprised
37:10me
37:11the
37:11only
37:12thing
37:12is
37:12some
37:13of
37:13the
37:13wells
37:13were
37:13abandoned
37:14because
37:14of
37:15nitrates
37:16nitrates
37:17are not
37:18seawater
37:18it's
37:19waste
37:20coming
37:20from
37:21sifted
37:22tanks
37:22and
37:22waste
37:23coming
37:23from
37:24dirt
37:24all over
37:25the
37:25place
37:25it
37:26can
37:26be
37:26treated
37:27chemically
37:27man
37:27so
37:28first
37:29we
37:30stop
37:30the
37:31well
37:31from
37:31operating
37:31and
37:32then
37:32we
37:32treat
37:32the
37:32nitrates
37:33and
37:33then
37:33when
37:33it
37:33stable
37:34we
37:35operate
37:36it
37:36again
37:36because
37:37we
37:37are
37:37very
37:37particular
37:38about
37:38the
37:38quality
37:39of
37:39the
37:39water
37:39of
37:40MCWD
37:40somebody
37:41was
37:42asking
37:42to me
37:42you know
37:43MCWD
37:44water
37:44actually
37:44is the
37:44safest
37:45water
37:45better than
37:46bottled
37:47water
37:47because
37:47it
37:48still
37:48has
37:48the
37:48minerals
37:48and
37:49we
37:49treat
37:50them
37:50with
37:50chlorinated
37:51water
37:52which
37:53is
37:53true
37:54MCWD
37:55water
37:55is
37:56bacteria
37:57free
37:57because
37:58we
37:59chlorinated
38:00except
38:01that
38:01some
38:01people
38:01don't
38:02like
38:02the
38:02taste
38:02and
38:03if
38:03people
38:03got
38:03used
38:03to
38:04bottled
38:04water
38:04the
38:05thing
38:05is
38:05good
38:06but
38:06this
38:06is
38:07crazy
38:07because
38:08desalinated
38:09water
38:09do you
38:10know
38:10the last
38:11stage
38:11of
38:11desalinated
38:12they
38:12have
38:13a
38:14remineralizing
38:16tank
38:16that
38:17adds
38:17back
38:18the
38:18minerals
38:19that
38:19were
38:21removed
38:21during
38:22the
38:22reverse
38:23osmosis
38:23process
38:25so
38:26you
38:26know
38:27the
38:27bottled
38:27water
38:27that
38:28is
38:28coming
38:28from
38:28reverse
38:29osmosis
38:29is
38:29almost
38:30devoid
38:30of
38:31minerals
38:31that
38:32we
38:32need
38:32well
38:33you
38:33can
38:33probably
38:33get
38:34it
38:34from
38:34vegetables
38:35and
38:35fruits
38:36but
38:37natural
38:38water
38:39contains
38:40minerals
38:40which
38:40our
38:41body
38:41needs
38:41that
38:42when
38:42I
38:42visited
38:43the
38:44salination
38:45plants
38:46in
38:46Chibu
38:46I
38:47looked at
38:47it
38:47and
38:47they
38:48told me
38:48we
38:48actually
38:49have
38:50remineralization
38:51component
38:52but
38:53you
38:53know
38:54sometimes
38:54we
38:54don't
38:54run
38:54it
38:55because
38:55people
38:55you
38:56know
38:56they
38:57like
38:57the
38:57taste
38:57of
38:58it
38:58the
38:59clean
38:59water
39:01so
39:04we
39:04are
39:05saying
39:05chairman
39:05should
39:07El Nino
39:07happen
39:08later
39:08this
39:08year
39:09until
39:09about
39:10January
39:11of
39:11next
39:11year
39:12MCWD
39:13sources
39:15have
39:16already
39:16covered
39:17the
39:17gaps
39:18through
39:18its
39:18contingency
39:19plan
39:20I
39:21think
39:21we
39:22covered
39:23up to
39:2480%
39:25to
39:2590%
39:26on the
39:26contingency
39:27plan
39:27in fact
39:28the
39:29Carmen
39:29water
39:29we can
39:31bring in
39:32another
39:335,000
39:33cubic meters
39:34a day
39:34because
39:35I
39:35you know
39:36do you know
39:37that Carmen
39:38has the
39:38most forested
39:40town in the
39:41whole of
39:41Cebu
39:41and the
39:43reason
39:43I know
39:43the
39:43reason
39:44but
39:44previously
39:45as
39:45chairman
39:46there are
39:48two
39:48people
39:48in Cebu
39:49who
39:49loves
39:49trees
39:50the
39:53old
39:54mayor
39:54of
39:55Carmen
39:56and
39:56Missy Lollier
39:57they
39:57learned to
39:58plant
39:58trees
39:58and
39:59when
40:00we
40:00decided
40:01to
40:01explore
40:01that
40:02Carmen
40:02water
40:02we
40:03estimated
40:04that
40:04at least
40:0490,000
40:06cubic meters
40:07were actually
40:07flowing to
40:08the sea
40:09see
40:10imagine
40:10it's a waste
40:11that's right
40:11now at least
40:12we're getting
40:1330,000
40:14of that
40:14but I
40:15was in
40:16Danau
40:17because I'm
40:17from Danau
40:18and somebody
40:19mentioned
40:20sir
40:24I think
40:26you're
40:26looking at
40:2630,000
40:2740,000
40:27cubic meters
40:28flowing to
40:29the sea
40:29one of
40:30these days
40:31we're going to
40:31top that
40:31except that
40:32you know
40:33the price
40:34the
40:36receiving
40:37point
40:38is
40:39water
40:40become
40:41controversial
40:41because
40:42they
40:44renegotiated
40:44the price
40:45sometime
40:472023
40:49and
40:50I said
40:50when I
40:51got back
40:51as
40:52chairman
40:53I was
40:54joking
40:54you know
40:55how
40:57was this
40:58renegotiated
40:58that's a
40:59fixed price
41:00contract
41:00with an
41:01escalation
41:02clause
41:02and I
41:03remember
41:03there is
41:04a parametric
41:05formula
41:05on how
41:07to increase
41:07the rate
41:08for political
41:09reasons
41:10there was
41:10that was
41:11the time
41:11when you
41:11know
41:12there were
41:12a series
41:13of changes
41:13in the
41:13board
41:14of
41:14MCWD
41:15and
41:17the province
41:18Governor
41:18Gwen
41:19was involved
41:19because
41:20they
41:21were
41:21the
41:21joint
41:21venture
41:22partner
41:22of
41:22Manila
41:22Water
41:23and
41:24all
41:24of
41:24this
41:25now
41:26we're
41:26reviewing
41:26I'm
41:27asking
41:27a lawyer
41:27to review
41:28this
41:29I
41:30cannot
41:31imagine
41:31how
41:32the price
41:32doubled
41:33from
41:33$26
41:35to $53
41:36in
41:38just
41:38one
41:39year
41:41there's
41:42a formula
41:42to that
41:43and there's
41:43legal
41:43implications
41:44so we're
41:45trying to
41:45review this
41:46I mean
41:46these are
41:47reasonable
41:47people
41:47although
41:48Manila
41:48Water
41:49Carmen
41:50has been
41:50sold
41:50to
41:51Razon
41:51I
41:52know
41:52most
41:52of
41:52the
41:53board
41:53of
41:53directors
41:54in
41:54Manila
41:55Water
41:56and I
41:57know
41:57also
41:57some
41:57of
41:57the
41:57people
41:58in
41:58Razon
41:58these
41:59are
42:00very
42:00reasonable
42:01people
42:01we just
42:02have to
42:02talk to
42:03them
42:03yeah
42:04so
42:04we're
42:05saying
42:0580%
42:06of
42:07should
42:07El Nino
42:08happen
42:08the
42:09contingency
42:09plan
42:10of
42:10MCWD
42:11will
42:11cover
42:1280%
42:13can
42:14you
42:14also
42:14share
42:15to
42:15us
42:15how
42:15we
42:16continue
42:16to
42:17close
42:17the
42:18gap
42:18of
42:18the
42:18remaining
42:1920%
42:19because
42:20the
42:20remaining
42:2120%
42:21also
42:22means
42:22households
42:23still
42:24not
42:24having
42:25water
42:25so
42:25how
42:26do
42:26we
42:26plan
42:26to
42:26close
42:26the
42:27gap
42:27also
42:27of
42:27the
42:27remaining
42:2820%
42:29okay
42:30we
42:30have
42:31we
42:31get
42:31complaints
42:32every
42:32call
42:33center
42:34and we
42:34get
42:35complaints
42:35every
42:35day
42:36we
42:36track
42:37already
42:37in fact
42:38we
42:38have
42:39do
42:40a
42:40frequency
42:41distribution
42:42of
42:42where
42:43the
42:43complaints
42:43are
42:43coming
42:44from
42:44what
42:45time
42:46of
42:46the
42:46day
42:46and
42:46what
42:47area
42:47and
42:48we
42:48have
42:48pinpointed
42:49mountain
42:50barangays
42:50of course
42:51are
42:51problematic
42:52that's
42:53because
42:54you know
42:55we have
42:55to pump
42:55water
42:55to them
42:56so
42:57we
42:57have
42:58identified
42:58water
42:59sources
42:59in
43:00the
43:00mountain
43:00barangay
43:00and
43:01sometimes
43:02we
43:02do
43:02send
43:02water
43:03trucks
43:03but
43:04since
43:04I
43:05sat
43:05since
43:06January
43:07according to
43:08our
43:08people
43:09we
43:09reduced
43:10the
43:10number
43:10of
43:10complaints
43:11in
43:11the
43:11mountain
43:12barangays
43:12by
43:1360-65%
43:15there
43:15are still
43:15problems
43:16in fact
43:17I got
43:17I don't
43:18know
43:18what
43:18is
43:19but
43:20I got
43:21a text
43:22there
43:23was
43:24a
43:24repair
43:25delayed
43:28delayed
43:28by
43:29two
43:29or
43:30three
43:30days
43:30and
43:31it
43:31only
43:31got
43:32fixed
43:32the
43:32other
43:32day
43:33I'm
43:33glad
43:33we
43:34were
43:34happy
43:35they
43:35got
43:35their
43:35water
43:36there
43:37are
43:37two
43:37areas
43:37in the
43:37mountain
43:38barangays
43:38and
43:39sometimes
43:40we
43:40have
43:40to
43:40send
43:41water
43:42truck
43:42but
43:42we
43:43found
43:44alternative
43:44sources
43:45already
43:45and
43:46it's
43:47very
43:48expensive
43:48for us
43:48if we
43:49have to
43:49pump
43:49the
43:49water
43:50and
43:51remember
43:51we
43:52lose
43:52on
43:52residential
43:53areas
43:54that
43:55pays
43:55only
43:5638-39
43:57pesos
43:57per
43:58cubic
43:58meter
43:58and
43:59the
43:59mountain
44:00we
44:00lose
44:01money
44:02on
44:02that
44:02but
44:02never
44:03mind
44:03but
44:03that's
44:04part
44:04of
44:04our
44:04obligation
44:05I
44:05mean
44:05we
44:06know
44:06some
44:07of
44:07these
44:07areas
44:07we
44:08don't
44:08make
44:08money
44:09but
44:09on
44:10the
44:10whole
44:10the
44:10weighted
44:11average
44:11cost
44:11we
44:12make
44:12money
44:12but
44:13we
44:13have
44:13to
44:13address
44:13that
44:13and
44:14I
44:14know
44:14the
44:15mayor
44:15and
44:15all
44:16local
44:16viewers
44:16are
44:16also
44:17concerned
44:17of
44:17that
44:17we're
44:18aware
44:18of
44:18that
44:18social
44:19obligation
44:19so
44:20we're
44:20doing
44:21that
44:21so
44:21so far
44:23the
44:24past
44:24three
44:25weeks
44:25have
44:25been
44:25half
44:25days
44:27the
44:27spike
44:28in
44:28complaints
44:29have
44:29not
44:29gone
44:30up
44:30really
44:31we
44:32still
44:32get
44:32it
44:32but
44:32so far
44:34it's
44:35diminishing
44:35at least
44:37where
44:37we're
44:38seeing
44:38positive
44:39improvements
44:40since
44:41the
44:41start
44:41of
44:42the
44:42year
44:42and
44:43incidentally
44:43we're
44:44also
44:44grateful
44:45because
44:45that's
44:45also
44:46the
44:47time
44:47that
44:47you
44:47started
44:48as
44:49the
44:49chairman
44:50of
44:50the
44:50board
44:50of
44:50MCWD
44:51so
44:52my
44:52last
44:52question
44:52for
44:53you
44:53chairman
44:53is
44:54you
44:56shared
44:56a very
44:57bold
44:57statement
44:58this
44:58year
44:58when
44:59you
44:59said
44:59that
44:59we
45:00are
45:00going
45:01to be
45:01profitable
45:02this
45:02year
45:02so
45:03MCWD
45:04is
45:04going
45:04to be
45:05profitable
45:05this
45:06year
45:06how
45:07can
45:07you
45:07also
45:08assure
45:08our
45:08viewers
45:09and
45:09the
45:10consumers
45:10that
45:11the
45:12main
45:12driver
45:13for
45:13this
45:13is
45:15efficiency
45:16and
45:17not
45:17passing
45:18the
45:18cost
45:18to
45:19the
45:19consumer
45:21yeah
45:22actually
45:22it's
45:22both
45:22I
45:24have
45:25a
45:25pending
45:26request
45:26for
45:27to
45:28local
45:29water
45:29administration
45:30not only
45:31for a
45:31rate
45:32increase
45:32there
45:33was
45:33a
45:35suspended
45:38rate
45:38adjustment
45:39but
45:40it
45:40was
45:41not
45:41across
45:42the
45:42board
45:42it
45:43hit
45:44only
45:44certain
45:44sectors
45:45certain
45:46sectors
45:46not
45:47the
45:47lower
45:47not
45:48the
45:48lower
45:48sector
45:49mostly
45:50businesses
45:51and
45:52establishments
45:53I
45:54do not
45:54know
45:54what
45:55reason
45:55it
45:55was
45:55suspended
45:56but
45:56we
45:57already
45:58made
45:58a
45:58request
45:58to
45:59local
45:59water
45:59administration
46:01and
46:02the
46:02director
46:03Salonga
46:04is very
46:04sympathetic
46:05to it
46:05but he
46:06said
46:06he has
46:06to
46:06present
46:07it
46:07to
46:07the
46:07board
46:08the
46:08blue
46:09now
46:10that
46:10when
46:11that
46:11gets
46:11approved
46:12that
46:13you
46:13will not
46:13even
46:13notice
46:14it
46:14in
46:14your
46:15billing
46:15because
46:16my
46:17proposal
46:17is
46:17that
46:18suspended
46:18rate
46:19adjustment
46:19will
46:20spread
46:20over
46:2118
46:21months
46:22to
46:2224
46:22months
46:23so
46:23and
46:24it
46:24will not
46:25hit
46:25everybody
46:25but
46:26only
46:26certain
46:26business
46:27and
46:27establishments
46:28it will
46:29spread over
46:3024
46:30months
46:31so it's
46:31very
46:31minimal
46:31but
46:32that
46:32thing
46:33will
46:33bring
46:34in
46:34about
46:35290
46:36million
46:37in
46:37revenue
46:37over
46:38the
46:3818
46:39month
46:39period
46:39to
46:39MCWD
46:40so
46:41that
46:41helps
46:42us
46:42on
46:42our
46:43top
46:43line
46:43and
46:44then
46:44of course
46:45cost
46:45control
46:46now
46:46like I
46:48said
46:48the
46:48cooperation
46:49of
46:49the
46:49employees
46:50and
46:50everybody
46:50including
46:51the
46:51local
46:52government
46:52and
46:52then
46:53very
46:53good
46:53so
46:56what's
46:57going to
46:57happen
46:58is that
46:58our
46:59top
47:00line
47:00which is
47:00our
47:01revenue
47:01now
47:01will
47:02definitely
47:02be
47:04higher
47:04than
47:05our
47:05cost
47:05of
47:06water
47:06so
47:06we
47:07will
47:07have
47:07a
47:07gross
47:07margin
47:08already
47:08so
47:09and
47:10then
47:10all
47:11I
47:11had
47:12to
47:12do
47:12was
47:12to
47:13engage
47:14the
47:14people
47:15to
47:15do
47:16all
47:17the
47:17good
47:18governance
47:19issues
47:19that have
47:19to be
47:20done
47:20including
47:21just
47:21you know
47:22capex
47:23expenditures
47:23have
47:24to be
47:25when
47:25you
47:26propose
47:27a
47:27capex
47:27expenditures
47:28anything
47:29over
47:2950
47:30million
47:30I
47:31want
47:31you
47:31to
47:31justify
47:32it
47:32why
47:33we
47:33should
47:33spend
47:33for
47:34that
47:34and
47:34you
47:34do
47:35a
47:35performer
47:35P&L
47:36now
47:37that's
47:37what
47:37everybody
47:37do
47:38you
47:38want
47:38to
47:38propose
47:39100
47:39million
47:40project
47:40or
47:40200
47:41million
47:41you
47:41justify
47:42why
47:42you
47:42have to
47:43do
47:43that
47:43because
47:43it
47:43makes
47:44sense
47:44and
47:45makes
47:45profit
47:45for
47:46us
47:46of
47:46course
47:47even
47:47considering
47:48the
47:48social
47:48cost
47:49that we
47:49have to
47:50serve
47:50all the
47:50people
47:50along
47:51the
47:51way
47:51like
47:52in
47:53example
47:53like
47:54in the
47:54Mactan
47:55project
47:56the
47:56mayor
47:56requested
47:57us
47:57when
47:58you
47:58do
47:58the
47:58pipeline
47:59could
47:59you
47:59include
47:59all
48:00the
48:00pipelines
48:00going
48:01to
48:01the
48:01residential
48:01areas
48:02yes
48:03definitely
48:03mayor
48:04you
48:04know
48:05it
48:06doesn't
48:06it
48:06will not
48:07make
48:07so much
48:07money
48:08for us
48:08in fact
48:08we're
48:08going
48:09to
48:09lose
48:09but
48:09I'm
48:10going
48:10to
48:10hit
48:10all
48:10the
48:10condominiums
48:11in
48:11Mactan
48:12all
48:13the
48:13commercial
48:13areas
48:14especially
48:14in
48:14New
48:15Town
48:15and
48:16that
48:16will
48:16compensate
48:17for
48:17laying
48:17the
48:18pipelines
48:18along
48:18the
48:19way
48:19because
48:20you
48:21cannot
48:21justify
48:22laying
48:22pipelines
48:23to
48:23the
48:23commercial
48:23areas
48:24without
48:24providing
48:25water
48:25to
48:25the
48:25residential
48:26areas
48:26so
48:27the
48:28mayor
48:28the
48:28government
48:29will
48:29all
48:29agree
48:29to
48:30that
48:30so
48:30hopefully
48:31this
48:31year
48:31we're
48:32going
48:32to
48:32finish
48:32all
48:32of
48:33that
48:33yeah
48:33thank
48:34you
48:34very
48:35much
48:35chairman
48:35Almendras
48:36for
48:36joining
48:36us
48:36today
48:37and
48:37for
48:37your
48:37insights
48:38and
48:38perspective
48:39that
48:39that's
48:40going
48:40to help
48:41us
48:41better
48:41understand
48:42how
48:42MCWD
48:43will
48:44reduce
48:44the
48:44inefficiency
48:45and
48:46then
48:46make
48:46it
48:47profitable
48:47moving
48:48forward
48:50thank
48:51you
48:51thank
48:51you
48:51but
48:52more
48:52than
48:52anything
48:53I
48:53want
48:53to
48:53thank
48:54the
48:54people
48:54in
48:54MCWD
48:55that
48:56everybody
48:57have
48:57you know
48:58turning
48:58company
48:59around
49:00every time
49:01I take
49:01the elevator
49:01I talk
49:02to
49:02the
49:03people
49:03that
49:04I'm
49:04so
49:04glad
49:04you know
49:05everybody's
49:05in the
49:06ball
49:06and
49:06really
49:07the
49:07first
49:08thing
49:08you do
49:08really
49:08is
49:09get
49:09people
49:10to
49:10work
49:10together
49:10and
49:11then
49:11do
49:12good
49:12governance
49:12you know
49:13all
49:15the
49:15other
49:15things
49:16financial
49:17management
49:17operational
49:18management
49:18it's
49:19in the
49:19textbook
49:19I even
49:20told them
49:20could you
49:21talk to
49:22AI
49:22to do
49:23all these
49:23things
49:23you load
49:25in all
49:25your
49:25input
49:26and tell
49:27AI to
49:28sort
49:28it out
49:28and then
49:28we sort
49:29it out
49:30because sometimes
49:30AI gets
49:31crazy
49:33very easy
49:34to spot
49:34when AI
49:36goes
49:36haywire
49:37because
49:38I do
49:38my own
49:39calculation
49:40I do
49:40my own
49:41analysis
49:41but I
49:42double
49:42check
49:42it
49:43with
49:44asking
49:44it
49:44okay
49:45this
49:45is
49:45the
49:45thing
49:46and
49:46AI
49:47it
49:48helps
49:48a lot
49:48thank you
49:50thank you very much
49:51these are
49:52promising
49:53developments in
49:54MCWD
49:55thank you for
49:55joining us
49:56today
49:56Chairman
49:56Almendras
49:57thank you
49:58also
49:59okay
49:59exceeding
50:00now
50:00so
50:01that was
50:02Ruben
50:03Almendras
50:04Chairman of the
50:04Board of
50:05MCWD
50:06so
50:06the
50:07challenges
50:07facing
50:08MCWD
50:09did
50:09not
50:09happen
50:10overnight
50:10and
50:11solutions
50:11will
50:12not
50:12happen
50:13overnight
50:13either
50:14what
50:14matters
50:15now
50:15is
50:15whether
50:15reforms
50:16will
50:16produce
50:17results
50:17that
50:18ordinary
50:18consumers
50:19can
50:20actually
50:21feel
50:21so
50:22thank you
50:22for
50:23joining
50:23us
50:23today
50:24this
50:24has
50:24been
50:24Beyond
50:25the
50:25Headlines
50:25I'm
50:26DJ
50:26Moises
50:26have
50:27a
50:27good
50:27afternoon
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