The removal of Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA) General Manager Mona Dia G. Jardin is being hailed by employees and consumer groups as a victory in their long-running opposition to the agency’s joint venture with Villar-owned PrimeWater.

The BACIWA Board of Directors terminated Jardin on August 22, citing “loss of confidence.”

In Resolution No. 063, Series of 2025, the board formalized Jardin’s removal and appointed Engr. Michael M. Soliva as Acting General Manager. Soliva will also serve as head of the Environment Water Resource Sewerage and Sanitation Management Division.

The decision was made during the board’s 16th regular meeting at the BACIWA main office in Bacolod City.

Jardin served as general manager when BACIWA entered into a joint venture agreement with PrimeWater in 2020, a deal that led to protests by the BACIWA Employees Union (BEU).

The union opposed the dismissal of 60 workers declared “redundant” after the takeover.

The Civil Service Commission later ruled in favor of the affected employees, upholding their security of tenure and ordering their reinstatement.

The BEU said management has not fully complied with the ruling, leaving the workers in limbo.

In 2023, BEU and consumer group Amlig Tubig staged a protest and challenged Jardin to a “drinking test” at her residence in Barangay Felisa to prove the safety of BACIWA’s water supply, but Jardin declined.

Amlig Tubig said the challenge was meant to demonstrate the safety of the supply after one of BACIWA’s water sources tested positive for E. coli in a City Health Office inspection that same year.

Cause-oriented groups have also criticized PrimeWater and BACIWA for recurring problems of low supply and turbid water described by consumers as “iced tea” or “coffee-colored.”

Amlig Tubig welcomed Jardin’s removal, describing her as a “protector of PrimeWater” and urging the board to rescind the joint venture agreement.

In a statement, the group said, “Madamo nga salamat sa bago nga board of directors kay na realize niyo man guid nga islan kag kakson ang protektor sg Prime Water nga si Mona Dia Jardin.”

The group added that Jardin’s dismissal was a form of justice for affected employees and vowed to continue its campaign against the deal.