A makeshift gauze filter attached to a kitchen faucet is visibly blackened by muck and debris in the Cagayan de Oro City household of Aida Naliponguit. Consumers continue to resort to “do-it-yourself” filtration as state auditors flag the local water district for severe service deficiencies and soaring bulk water rates. Photo by Cong B. Corrales
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The joint venture involving this city’s water facility for bulk water supply is in hot water yet again after the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the arrangement for drastically inflating bulk water prices, to the disadvantage of consumers here.
In its Special Audit Office Report No. 2026-02, state auditors revealed that instead of building an independent water treatment facility as promised, the joint venture firm Cagayan de Oro Bulk Water Inc. (COBI) merely acted as a middleman.
COBI essentially wedged itself between the Cagayan de Oro City Water District (COWD) and its original supplier, Rio Verde Water Consortium Inc., the state auditors pointed out in the report.
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