DAVAO City Councilor Diosdado Mahipus, Jr. is pushing for the creation of a body that will preserve and protect Davao River.
He said he will propose for the creation of the Davao River Management and Conservation Council that will formulate policies in relation to the preservation, protection, and management of the river.
Mahipus’ proposal came after a committee hearing last August 9, when the report of 150 trees cut for drainage and revetment project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) near Ma-a riverbanks reached the city council through Councilor Pilar Braga.
The councilor, during his privilege speech on the regular session at the Sangguniang Panlungsod Tuesday, August 13, said the project did not go through proper consultation with the local government despite having the necessary permits from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the lot owner.
“Naa naman ta’y specialized body who is looking after its preservation in 1999, through an executive order. I don’t know what happened, maong gina-eye nato ang pag-create sa Davao River Management and Conservation Council (We have an existing specialized body that is tasked to look into the preservation of the Davao River in 1999 through an executive order. I don’t know what happened but we are eyeing for the creation of the Davao River Management and Conservation Council),” Mahipus told reporters in an ambush interview.
He said the creation of the body will strengthen the environmental protection of the river.
“We will formulate policies consistent to the preservation of the river. (Apil niini) unsa’y mga pwede itukod, unsa dili pwede itukod. Tanang conservation efforts para ma-maintain nato kalimpyo sa sapa (This includes what structures to be constructed and those that should not be constructed. The body will spearhead all conservation efforts to ensure that the river is clean),” the councilor said.
Mahipus, meanwhile, ordered DPWH to submit the list of all the agency’s projects for monitoring purposes and future coordination.
The councilor admitted that the council has no authority to stop the project, however, they will be vigilant on future projects in order for the incident not to happen again.
According to DPWH, the drainage and revetment project, which will cover all downstream and right banks of the city, costs almost P50 million.
DPWH-Davao City district engineering office acting public information officer John Frances Fuentes, previously, said the concretization of the river banks would prevent the rising of water levels.
Fuentes admitted chopping off the trees was “a last resort” due to the shortage of funds for the equipment for earth balling, a process of moving a tree by digging out the earth and the roots in a circular shape, leaving most of the root system undisturbed and intact.
The project kicked off last July 16, and is expected to finish by February next year.
Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis) executive director Chinkee Peliño-Golle said DPWH should have gone through with the Davao City Infrastructure Monitoring and Advisory Group (IMAG), a body that monitors and approves infrastructure projects in line with the sustainability and ecological goals pursued by the city government.
Idis, who was present during the meeting, had been pushing for other means of removing of trees in its natural position without having to chop off its roots.
“It is ironic that the purpose of the revetment is to prevent erosion and landslides along riverbanks, but removing these trees would only worsen the floodings,” Peliño-Golle said in a phone call interview.
The group had successfully fought against the proposed cutting of trees along Dacudao Avenue in 2014.
However, they were surprised with the actions taken by DPWH.
Meanwhile, she urged DPWH and the national government to allocate funds and resources for “bioengineering” equipment and methods in the Build, Build, Build Program.
“I-maximize nila ila resources. Unta mabalanse ang environmental and ecological impact sa project na gina-implement sa Build, Build, Build (They should maximize their resources by balancing the environmental and ecological impact in the projects they implement for the Build, Build, Build program),” Peliño-Golle said.