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Thursday, December 08, 2005
Ownership claim over town water source belied
BAGUIO CITY -- Benguet Provincial Board (PB) Member Apolinario Camsol debunked the claim of the heirs of a former barangay official of Buguias that they own the water source that supplies barangay Abatan.
Camsol, a former Buguias mayor, also ordered the private claimants to immediately reconnect the pipes that they cut, which left Abatan residents waterless for almost four weeks now.
Abatan is Buguias' center of commercial activities.
The Provincial Board last week advised the residents to file appropriate complaints against Calamagan barangay treasurer Cornel Montes, who reportedly continued to disconnect the water distribution pipes despite efforts of the complainants to restore these.
Last week, residents of Abatan, led by punong barangay Agustin Dacus, trooped to the Board to seek the latter's assistance regarding their problem.
Montes claimed the water source located at sitio Balicwey, Calamagan is covered by a water right availed in 1991 by his late father-in-law Magno Pablo, a former barangay chairman.
A memorandum of agreement (MOA), which indicated that the water source falls under the lot owned by Pablo and that he has an existing water right permit, was furnished to the local media recently.
The MOA, entered between Pablo, barangay Abatan and the municipal government allowed Abatan residents to tap water from the source.
It was also stated in the MOA that the holder of the water permit shall maintain the cleanliness of the source and ensure that enough water is delivered to Abatan.
In return, the local government will pay the owner a maintenance fee. The latter was granted the right to disconnect the water supply should the municipality fail to maintain its financial obligations.
Camsol however said the heirs of Pablo could no longer use the agreement as their basis in cutting Abatan's water supply.
He explained that the agreed continuous supply of water to Abatan has not been maintained by the family of Pablo.
"Several private individuals started to tap the water for household and irrigation purposes one year after the establishment of the pipes in 1993," Camsol said, adding that this prejudiced the end users in Abatan.
Since the permit holder failed to abide by the agreement, Camsol said the pipes were relocated in 2001. This now made the agreement invalid, he said.
Further, Camsol said that claimant Montes should first present the actual water permit, which he uses as basis in claiming ownership of the water source.
"They are claiming that they have the existing water rights but up to now, they have not presented the actual document," Camsol said. (JC)
(December 8, 2005 issue)
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