2,000 rally against stalled water project in Cavite

Residents from the adjoining towns of Indang and Naic in Cavite province staged a rally on Monday against a questionable water supply project that the Cavite provincial government had earlier ordered stopped due to the controversies surrounding it.

Catholic priest Fr. Von Arellano, political relations officer of the group called Save Waters of Indang Movement, said around 2,000 joined the protest march that culminated at the patio of St. Gregory the Great Parish in Indang before forming a human chain to express their opposition to the water project of PTK2 H2O Corp.

The company, according to documents obtained from the provincial government, is a Makati-based bulk-water operator that entered into a contract with the Tagaytay City Water District on April 23, 2012.

The contract involves the supply of 10,000 cubic meters of potable water to Tagaytay, a tourist city in Cavite, over a period of 20 years beginning May 31.

The water was supposed to be drawn from the rivers of Ikloy, Indang, Lambak and Saluysoy, all located in Indang.

The company in January this year started building a water intake and filtration system in Barangay Kayquit II. But on April 4, the Cavite government issued a cease and desist order (CDO) to stop the pipe-laying activities, as it turned out that the company failed to secure a number of permits and clearances.

The Cavite provincial board, in a copy of its April 30 report, also found that the certificate to utilize water resources issued by Indang Mayor Bienvenido Dimero did not have the backing of his municipal board.

The Inquirer on Monday tried to seek comments from Dimero but he could not be reached through his mobile phone.

The Inquirer also tried to get comments from the water company through the office number listed on the bidding records submitted in Tagaytay City. The phone number was that of the De Guzman-Dionido and Associates Law Office but the person who took the call said the counsel for the company, Rick Cachola, was unavailable for an interview.

According to the records of the Cavite provincial government, the water company president was an “Atty. Crisoloto Dionido.”

‘Weak’

The project raised legal and environmental issues, as Arellano claimed that they had documentation showing that the company proceeded to “work secretly” to complete its facilities in Indang.

“A CDO [from the provincial government] is just as weak, given that a national [government] agency can easily supersede it,” he said in a phone interview.

Provincial government records showed that PTK2 H2O applied for water rights in 2008 and was granted the water permits by the National Water Resources Board on May 28, 2012, despite incomplete requirements.

It was also learned that the Cavite Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office was not aware of the project, even if the company was granted an environmental compliance certificate last year by the regional Environmental Management Bureau.

Noel Sedigo, department chair of Cavite State University’s Department of Forestry and Environment Sciences, said on Monday that the water intake system put at risk Ikloy River’s flora and fauna.

Ikloy River, he said, is part of the Lambak watershed and is home to 100 indigenous tree species, 72 medicinal plants and 31 commercial fish.

Aside from Indang, where less than 55 percent of its households enjoy a regular water supply from Ikloy, Naic also sources its irrigation water from the Indang river system.

“What we need right now is an independent study to find out the amount of river flow, as this might impact the downstream,” Sedigo said.