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CEBU City: Local officials are opposing a new law
consolidating Central Cebu’s watersheds, saying they will lose
control over part of their territories.
President Arroyo has signed into
law Republic Act (RA) 9486, authored by Rep. Eduardo R. Gullas (Cebu,
First District), which created the Central Cebu Protected
Landscape-Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) to address the
island’s water shortage.
The board will manage 29,062
hectares of protected areas, which cover the cities of Cebu, Talisay,
Danao and Toledo, as well as the towns of Minglanilla, Consolacion,
Liloan, Compostela and Balamban.
But the law was widely hailed by
environmentalists and Metro Cebu’s lone water utility.
Fr. Margarito Alingasa of the
Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water (CUSW) said the new law would
make it easier for stakeholders to agree on policies and
implementation of projects.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña,
whose city’s mountain barangays straddle part of the watershed
areas, said his stand on the issue is to protect the people, not the
area.
Cebu City planning officer Nigel
Paul Villarete said he disagrees with certain provisions of the law
as it takes away from local governments (LGU) control and
supervision of protected areas.
The task will be taken care of by
the protected management board, which was created under the Central
Cebu Protected Landscape Law.
“It’s awkward for an LGU to
ask permission from a body if it wants to undertake a project in the
watersheds. The LGUs, having been given the mandate for development
in its own territory, should be given the authority to manage its
own resources,” Villarete said.
Cebu provincial board member
Victor Maambong, provincial board committee on environment chairman,
said he sees the need for coordination with other government
agencies to determine what kind of development the new law allows in
watershed areas.
But Maambong said the new law
will not overshadow the provisions of, nor contradict the
authorities given by, the capitol ordinance that created the
Provincial Water Resources Authority, which is to address the
diverse issues on distribution of Cebu’s water supply.
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