DAVAO City Councilor Tek Ocampo said on August 18 that he is eyeing creating two ordinances in line with the protection of the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed as the next water source of the city.
Ocampo, who is also the chairperson of the Committee on Environment and Natural resources, said the first proposed ordinance is to declare the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed as a protected area and the second proposed ordinance seeks to designate the watershed as the main source of water in the city.
The councilor said they are awaiting the study from stakeholders such as Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc., Panigan-Tamugan Watershed Council, and the local government unit (LGU), which will be used as the basis for the ordinances.
“Diha sa area, ang gusto sa (LGU) ma-clear na, unta wala na mag puyo diha dapita kay aron protektado. Magpahigayon sad dira og reforestation... aron ang tubig mapermanente (The LGU wants to clear that area, that hopefully none live in the area to make sure it’s protected. We will also conduct a reforestation project to maintain the watershed),” he said.
Protocols in the proposed ordinances may include a prohibition on building houses or business establishments especially if it is within the river site area covered by the ordinance.
At the same time, the ordinances will ensure the cleanliness and quality of the watershed since Ocampo said it is also part of the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project.
“Nagpaabot na lang ko sa final report na hopefully mahatag para sugdan nato ang pagtuon sa paghimo og ordinance regarding that (We are just waiting for the final report so we can start to plan and study how we can implement the ordinance),” he said.
In a previous interview, Lemuel Manalo of the Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis) said the Panigan-Tamugan watershed is part of the conservation zone on the zoning map of Davao City. This implies that the watershed is an environmentally critical area.
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, a number of single-use disposable waste from human activities were found in the vicinity of the river site, such as used face masks, plastic food wrappers, shampoo, and soap bar wrappers.
This prompted a call for stakeholders, the LGU, and other concerned agencies to address the issues involving the watershed and strengthen its protection. ICM