DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 07 January) – An estimated 1,000 local tourists flocked to the Panigan-Tamugan River on New Year’s Day and left behind wastes such as plastics, liquor bottles and cigarette butts, in violation of city ordinances, the Davao City-based environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) said.
IDIS executive director Mark Peñalver, an environmental lawyer, expressed dismay over the non-enforcement of a city ordinance passed in 2021 on the “Guidelines on the Conduct of Recreational Activities Within the Watershed Areas of Davao City.”
Assorted plastic waste recovered at the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed during a clean-up in this 2021 photo courtesy of IDIS
Ordinance 0310-07 regulates the “recreational activities within the watershed-conservation areas for the protection, conservation, and preservation of the natural environment.”
“As to the enforcement, wala gyud ni na-enforce (It was never enforced). Had the ordinance been enforced, wala gyud siguro or, at the very least, gamay ra ang muadto (there could have been none or, at the very least, only a few people would have gone there),” he said.
Peñalver told MindaNews that the Bantay Bukid volunteers estimated around 1,000 individuals flocked to the river in Barangay Carmen in Baguio District, the city’s next source of drinking water. The river is being tapped for the P12-billion Davao City Bulk Water Project of Apo Agua, which is expected to deliver around 300 million liters of treated water to Davao City Water District once it is fully operational.
Apart from the guidelines ordinance, IDIS noted in a statement on Wednesday that the watershed is within the Critical Watershed Zone under the 2019-2028 Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of Davao City while the Davao City Watershed Code strictly prohibits “constructing or maintaining any kind of structure, fence or enclosure and conducting any business enterprise.”
The Code also prohibits “dumping or disposing of any waste product detrimental to plants, animals and inhabitants” in watershed areas.
The environmental group encouraged the public to avoid visiting the watershed area to prevent causing significant damage to the environmentally critical area.
“We urge the residents of Davao to raise awareness about the importance of conservation and responsible tourism. By coming together, we can better understand how our actions impact the environment and contribute to preserving the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed,” it said.
In 2021, various environmental groups raised alarm over the intrusive development of human settlements at the forest area of Sitio Kalatong, Barangay Carmen, Baguio District, considered part of the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed.
In a letter to then Mayor Sara Duterte dated June 29, 2021, the IDIS, Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), Euro Generics International Philippines Foundation (EGIP Foundation), and Davao City Bantay Bukid volunteers urged the city government to take immediate action to abate the clearing of forested areas in the sitio.
The environmental groups said “forest clearing, illegal cutting of trees, and timber harvesting” and selling of properties to non-indigenous of peoples (IPs) have been rampant since 2018.
Constructions of structures unauthorized structures are also taking place within the protected area, according to them.
The groups demanded that an investigation in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples be conducted to look into illegal selling of lands to non-IPs and the burgeoning illegal structures, and called for immediate demolition of existing illegal structures and establishments therein the area.
The affected area is within the “conservation zone” and considered as an “environmental critical area” based on the Davao City Zoning/ and Land Use Map and 2007 Watershed Code, respectively, of this city.
“Clearing the forested area, illegal cutting of trees and establishment of structures, illegal cutting of trees and establishment of structures in the area are violations of the Watershed Code Ordinance of the City. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
