Writ sought to stop Cavite water project

The Court of Appeals. FILE PHOTO

LOS BANOS, Philippines—A group of concerned residents from the towns of Indang and Naic in Cavite has filed a petition in the Court of Appeals for the issuance of a writ of kalikasan for the government to stop what it described as a “destructive”water project in Indang.

The petition was the latest action by the Save Waters of Indang Movement (SWIM) against a project meant to draw thousands of cubic meters of water from Indang’s rivers.

On June 3, the group, with members from the Church and the academe, lodged a case of graft and corruption and dereliction of duties in the Office of the Ombudsman against Indang Mayor Bienvenido Dimero, Vice Mayor Perfecto Fidel and five members of the municipal council.

It said the local officials were amiss for allowing the bulk-water operator, PTK2 H2O Corp., to lay its pipes and construct a water intake and filtration system although the company lacked a number of government permits and clearances.

“Our prayer was to get a temporary restraining order on this project,” SWIM political relations officer and Catholic priest Von Arellano said in a phone interview.

PTK2 H2O Corp., with an office in Makati City, entered into a contract with the city government of Tagaytay on April 23, 2012, to supply Cavite’s premier city and tourist destination with 10,000 cubic meters of potable water from the rivers of Ikloy, Saluysoy, Limbon and Pulo, all in Indang, over 20 years.

On April 4, the provincial government issued a cease-and-desist order, but SWIM claimed the company “secretly” continued laying pipes with almost 80 percent of its facilities in Indang already completed.

The Inquirer tried to seek comments from Dimero, but the mayor was unavailable for a phone interview. A member of his staff, Ver Crusen, said the mayor “has not heard of any case filed and therefore has no basis to give his comment.”

“The ground water of Indang could not sustain the project. A lot of farmers are also dependent on it,” Arellano said. He cited a 2003 study funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which showed that only 30 percent of the total ground water could be utilized and exceeding this amount could spell adverse effects on the rivers.