This is in response to your editorial published on Sept. 9, 2022 titled, “The friendship between Daluz and Casas.”I admit that lawyer Floro Casas Jr. is a good friend and my personal preference for the position of Assistant General Manager (AGM) for Administration of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD). Yes, you are right that our friendship is an open secret.However, I would like to refute the accusations of the MCWD Employees Union that I manipulated the selection process to accommodate Attorney Casas.While it is true that the selection process for AGM for Administration commenced in January, we, the MCWD Board of Directors composed of myself as chairman, Attorney Francisco “Frank” Malilong Jr. as vice chairman, secretary Miguelito Pato and members Manolette Dinsay and Jodelyn May Seno, decided last July to have the hiring announcement republished in local and national newspaper to allow wider dissemination and to attract more applicants for the position. The January hiring was only published on the Civil Service Commission portal and on the bulletin boards of MCWD, which have limited public exposure.I confirm that Attorney Casas applied for the position of AGM for Administration and is among the five qualified candidates. Even if we are friends, Attorney Casas still had to go through the long selection process like taking and passing the qualifying examination, and undergoing a panel interview.It is the general manager and not the BOD that appoints a person to a position. But the BOD has the mandate to concur or deny appointments for the positions of division manager, department manager and assistant general manager.Yes, Attorney Casas is my personal choice but the four other members of the BOD also have their say whether to confirm or reject an appointment. The MCWD BOD, being a collegial body, decides based on majority vote and this should be an assurance of the MEU that the confirmation of an appointment is not decided by myself alone.Even if we, somehow, have a common link who is the late mayor Edgardo Labella, my colleagues are all distinguished individuals in their respective field who always act with prudence and do not compromise sound judgment with political affiliation.I hope this clarifies the concerns raised regarding the application of Atty. Casas for the position of MCWD AGM for Administration.