THE Davao City Water District (DCWD) said that it is open to supplying water to the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS).
JC Duhaylungsod, spokesperson of DCWD, said that they were presented with an opportunity to supply water to Igacos even before the start of the construction of the Samal Island-Davao City Connector Project (SIDC) Project.
“We submitted a request to DPWH na unta ma-consider ang sa [if they would consider the] pipe, and we also presented our initial design sa [to] construction sa bridge,” she said during the Davao Peace and Security Press Forum at the Royal Mandaya Hotel on Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
Duhaylungsod added that they submitted the request because they could not just place water pipes on the bridge without considering the load, since this could affect the structural integrity of the bridge.
However, she said that their proposal was not incorporated and that they do not know the reason why. She added that if there is an opportunity for DCWD to provide water to Igacos, then it would utilize its surplus water supply to serve the island.
Duhaylungsod said that even if their proposal was not considered for the SIDC, there are still other means to bring water to Igacos.
Although she expressed that there had also been no formal request submitted to DCWD for the office to consider expanding its services to Samal, she said that the office is still open to providing services to Samal. She added that there are some engineering components and agreements from concerned stakeholders that they need to consider.
However, she said that based on their monitoring, the local government of Samal is exploring developments in its bulk water supply.
Earlier, the 10th City Council of Samal approved the loan application, which resulted in the Kaputian Bulk Water Project moving forward with its first phase.
The loan application with the Land Bank of the Philippines aims to kick-start the P100-million Bulk Water Project for the Kaputian District of IGACOS.
The bulk water project would tap into Tagbaobo Falls and aims to provide 24/7 potable water to 10 barangays in Kaputian District, with initial coverage in Barangays Tagbaobo, Kanaan, Pangubatan, Libertad, and San Remegio. RGP
