An ordinance declaring the Panigan-Tamugan watershed and its territorial boundary as a source water-protected area is being pushed.
Proposed by Councilor Temujin Ocampo, chairperson of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the City Council, the ordinance entitled “The Panigan-Tamugan Watershed Ordinance of 2023,” which is still at the committee level, aims to promote, improve, and safeguard the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed as one of the main sources of the city’s drinking water and is the largest source of the city’s surface water supply.
“Specific ni siya sa pag-protect sa atong next main source of drinking water from pollution,” Ocampo said during the Aprubado sa Konseho 20th City Council Media Forum at the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) on Tuesday.
Among the policies of the ordinance include effectively managing and protecting the physical, biological, and socio-economic attributes of the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed based on the assessment study; and recognizing that the watershed area is a recharged area for Davao City’s aquifers, which are sources of the city’s drinking water that must be protected, conserved and managed for the continued and full enjoyment of the present and future generations.
Ocampo said they will also harmonize the ordinance with the new Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and some national laws will be injected to avoid redundancy in the city’s ordinance.
“Ato pud ning i-harmonize ang ordinansa with our new CLUP. Aside from that, we also injected some national laws to make sure na maiwasan ang redundancy sa atoang ordinance,” he said.
Councilor Louie John Bonguyan, chairperson of the Committee on Energy and Water and Housing (medium-end), said the proposal of the ordinance is timely as the city has been utilizing the Tamugan River for many years already.
“Right now we are utilizing the Tamugan River for how many years so it is better to pass this proposed ordinance so that ma regulate nato itong mga tao nga naa ngadto sa taas,” he said.
Bonguyan added that the proposed ordinance can help limit the activities in the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed area.
