By Carmencita A. Carillo,
Correspondent
DAVAO CITY — Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. (AAII), a joint venture between Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. and J.V. Angeles Construction Corp., is facing a setback in its P10-billion bulk supply project here as the city council has returned the proposal to the committee level after the community at the water source filed a protest.
“One of the reasons the bulk water project was remanded to the committee level is because of the protest of Barangay Tamugan with the National Water Resources Board (NWRB),” Councilor Rene Elias C. Lopez, chair of the committee on housing, rural and urban development, said in an interview.
Officials of the barangay, in their letter to the NWRB, questioned the right of the Davao City Water District (DCWD), which will buy and distribute the bulk supply from AAII, to transfer its extraction rights to the private firm.
They pointed out that such transfer can only be granted by the NWRB. The community officials also questioned the share of the barangay in the project as well as the corporate social responsibility program that will be implemented by AAII.
Mr. Lopez added that there are several other issues that need to be settled at the committee level before the proposal can be forwarded again to the council plenary.
Among these are the impact on water rates and the supposed failure to consult the council’s committee on environment given that the planned water source, the Tamugan River, is classified as a watershed area under the city’s land use and zoning ordinance.
“We can’t help but raise questions like, why is it allowed in a protected area and do we need to violate the city’s land use plan? We did not get any endorsement for the project from the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) or Malacañang on the necessity of the project,” Councilor Diosdado A. Mahipus, environment committee chair, said in a separate interview.
The project, which involves an exclusive supply contract with DCWD for 300 million liters of water per day for 30 years beginning 2019, was cited by the National Economic and Development Authority’s Davao Region office in 2015 as one of the crucial projects for development.
AAII earlier said it already acquired its environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau in Region 11 last March.
In an interview with BusinessWorld in June, AAII General Manager Cirilo C. Almario III said they aim to start construction on the project by the fourth quarter this year. This is already months behind the original January 2017 target, but he remained optimistic of completing the project despite various pending government permits and documentary requirements, including the city council approval.
Mr. Mahipus said the company’s request for a permit to use the watershed area requires at least a 3/4 vote at the council because it is tantamount to amending the city’s zoning ordinance.
“I will insist that the city should be a joint venture partner in the bulk water system supply because after all it is our resources,” he added.
Mr. Lopez, on the other hand, said while he welcomes the stand of Mr. Mahipus to make the city part of the joint venture, he believes that the AAII request only involves the allowable use of the area.
“The water treatment facility is not allowed under the zoning ordinance of 2013 as it is an agricultural area, but they cited Section 12 which says it can request for another use of the land aside from what it has originally been zoned for following the stringent requirements,” Mr. Lopez said.
The project includes a weir, a hydropower plant, and pipelines of about eight kilometers going to the water treatment facility. A 55-kilometer network of supply lines will also be rolled out towards the eight existing reservoirs of DCWD, which will then be able to shift its main water supply source to surface water from the current ground water.
