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By Marie Espie Vidal, Contributor
Victories came one after the
other for the Bulacan provincial government as the Court of Appeals
found the Manila Waterways and Sewerage System (MWSS) guilty of
getting 40 percent of its water supply from the province’s Angat
Dam for nine years without paying compensation.
The appellate court’s verdict,
which reaffirmed an earlier decision of Malolos Regional Trial Court
Branch 82, ordered the sewerage agency to pay the provincial
government of Bulacan for the MWSS’ utilization of water
resources. The ruling cited Section 7, Article X, of the
Constitution and related it to Sections 289, 291 and 292 of Republic
Act 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991. The verdict also
confirmed the government’s right to levy taxes on Angat Dam under
the state’s right to extract its resources as a source of income.
Also, the Court of Appeals
ordered the MWSS to submit its income computations since 1992 to the
Malolos Regional Trial Court.
The government-run utility,
however, argued that the water stored in Angat Dam is not entirely
from Bulacan and the dam, it said, is not part of the so-called
natural resources stated in the Constitution.
The case was filed by former
Bulacan Gov. Josefina Dela Cruz in 2003 for “Specific
Performance/Payment of National Wealth Share.” With the help of
National Power Corp., the complainant presented detailed estimates
of the volume of water exclusively sourced from the province based
on the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority
Topographical Map.
Dela Cruz said Angat dam is
man-made and its use as a storage device is considered by law as a
part of the utilization process.
Aside from its proper share, the
provincial government of Bulacan also asked for 40 percent of the
concession fee of the MWSS but the appeal was denied by the Court of
Appeals.
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