Tunnel project defied LGU order
LUCENA CITY—The contractor of a water diversion tunnel project of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), which would cut through Sierra Madre, has defied an order to stop work on the project ordered by the local government as early as January but which was unheeded until an accident in the project site killed six workers in August.
In a meeting called by the provincial board’s committee on environment and natural resources on Tuesday, Leovigildo Rozul, former mayor of General Nakar town and now its municipal administrator, said MWSS and its contractor, Cavite Ideal International Construction and Development Corp. (Cavdeal), had been slapped with a cease-and-desist order in January for working without permit.
MWSS, in a report posted on its website, said the P717-million project involves the construction of a 600-meter tunnel that would pass through Sierra Madre and would be connected to the Umiray-Angat Transbasin Tunnel leading to Angat Dam in Norzagaray town in Bulacan province.
“We were surprised to learn after the accident that there were ongoing activities in the area,” Rozul said.
On Aug. 13, six Cavdeal workers drowned as floodwater swamped the MWSS’ Sumag River diversion project at the foot of the Sierra Madre between General Nakar and Doña Remedios Trinidad town in Bulacan.
Remote place
Two pilots of a helicopter used in the rescue operation also died when the aircraft crashed in Bulacan while they were on their way to the accident site a few days later.
Rozul said the local government could not closely monitor the project site in Sitio Sumag in Barangay Umiray because it is accessible only by foot, through a hike that would take more than two days, from the General Nakar town center.
The dialogue, presided over by Board Member Claro Talaga Jr., was attended by representatives from the MWSS, General Nakar town government and Provincial Mining and Regulatory Board (PMRB).
Board Member Hermilando Alcala Jr. said the board found that the MWSS has not been paying General Nakar and the provincial government any tax or fee for tapping the province’s water sources.
Water source
Umiray River in General Nakar contributes about 30 percent of raw water for Metro Manila, he said.
Webster Letargo, PMRB vice chair, said his office had not issued any permit for the quarrying and digging components of the project. He showed a letter of Gov. David Suarez, dated Sept. 8, informing MWSS Administrator Gerardo Esquivel about the failure of Cavdeal to secure quarry permits from PMRB which makes “any dredging activity illegal.”
DENR permit
Letargo described the project as “disrespect for the province” and done in “bad faith.”
Jose Dorado Jr., MWSS project engineer, said the project is being implemented and funded by Common Purpose Facility (CPF) office of Metro Manila’s only two water suppliers.
But Talaga said the MWSS, as the project proponent, is mandated to follow and observe all government protocols.
Mario Rodriguez, CPF manager, said the project started in April 2014 and is covered by an environmental clearance certificate issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Rodriguez said project proponents had submitted an application for local government permits.
But Alcala said it was not enough for the proponent to just submit the application. “You should have waited for its approval before work began,” Alcala said.
Rodriguez said his office would review all project documents. He said the construction, which had been stopped after the accident, will not resume without permits. —ATM
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