CAGAYAN de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno on Wednesday, November 14, said the 25-centavo and 50 centavo per cubic meter additional charge for household and industry sector respectively is only "small and very negligible."
Moreno said he hopes that the City Council will approve the ordinance which he said is only meant to protect the watersheds and prevent another typhoon Sendong to happen.
"Ang tuyo niini is maprotektahan ang watershed kay kita sa Cagayan de Oro, we're like sitting ducks, the watershed is designing our future mao tong nahitabo sa Sendong, we did nothing, the Piso-Piso programs are even built in no-build zones," Moreno said in his weekly radio program on Wednesday at DXIM Cagayan de Oro.
Moreno said the lessons of Sendong are very clear, which include, the city having no watershed protection program, no disaster preparedness plan, among others.
He said debates and criticisms on the proposal are understandable, since this involves additional collection.
"Ang uban magbuhat dayon ug storya nga mo-mahal na ug samot ang tubig, it is far from it, kana nga initiative meant to improve watershed and then correspondingly improve as well sources of water," he added.
Moreno said the beauty of the plan is that the funds collected will be reserved specifically for watershed protection, and no other purposes.
The proposal is currently under deliberation under City Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya's committee.
The proposed ordinance is in line with Section 16 of Republic Act 7160 which provides that local government units shall ensure and support the preservation and enrichment of culture, promote health and safety, and enhance the right of people to a balanced ecology, among others.