by Ram Maxey
THE ongoing ‘war’ between the Davao City Water District and Hedcor, a subsidiary of the Aboitiz group of companies, over the latter’s insistence to harness the Tamugan River as a source of hydropower has escalated somewhat with the entry of the Catholic Church represented by an organization of nuns taking the side of the DCWD.
The water agency fears that the harnessing of Tamugan River would eventually result in the depletion of the city’s water supply to the detriment of Dabawenyos in the long run. Hedcor, for its part, has painted a grim picture of an impending energy crisis in Mindanao which is beginning to be felt. By harnessing the Tamugan River as a hydropower source, Hedcor says it is merely doing what needs to be done for the public good, otherwise an energy crisis would place public interest in a bind. The Aboitiz group of companies has been rendering valuable public service in Davao City and elsewhere. For a profit, of course. Business is business. It’s the name of the game. As long as everybody is happy – the public and the company – so be it.
The present stalemate in the ‘war’ over water is only the lull before the real storm. It can get worse before it becomes better – if at all. Even the City Council appears to be divided on the issue, which just goes to show, as always, that in any debate there is an affirmative side and a negative side. Sometimes, there are more than two sides in fact. Like in tax legislation. Some prefer a (1) status quo (no increase); Others may opt for (2) an increase; and then again, some may opt to abolish the tax altogether, so forth and so on.
As a layman, all this debate is above my head. All I know is that we have the second best potable water in the world, next only to that of The Netherlands. In Cebu they have a problem where to augment their water supply, even to the extent of tapping water from Bohol, but the Boholanos are objecting vehemently to the idea, “Dili mi mo sugot, uroy!” One can sympathize with the Cebuanos. And we have seen on TV the long lines of people in some parts of Metro Manila waiting for their turn to fetch water from a single source. Dabawenyos never had it so good. But for how long? With our ballooning population brought about by migration as more and more people are gravitating towards one of the most liveable cities in Asia, thanks to a booming economy, will Dabawenyos be forced to line up in the future to fetch water from limited sources?
That scenario is disturbing. Water is the most important substance we consume. Man can survive for weeks without food, but will die in a few days without water. A human body is made up of anywhere from 55% to 75% water. Our blood is 83% water and our bones are 25% water, believe it or not. Water makes food digestion possible. Water makes it possible for waste to leave our body through perspiration, urine, feces, lungs. Take this water away and the chemical processes of life soon break down.
And there’s the need to water our plants, irrigate farms, wash clothes, cook food, bathe ourselves, brush our teeth, flush the toilet – even douse people with it on St. John, the Baptist’s Day (hahaha!). Here’s hoping that the day will never come when Dabawenyos will be faced with the dilemma of having no water to drink. It is very important to us all for the DCWD and Hedcor to end our anxiety about the future by coming to terms once and for all and resolve their problem over the Tamugan River to the satisfaction of all concerned.
