By Ben Serrano,
Correspondent
BUTUAN City — Tribal leaders, members, residents and barangay officials of Barangay Anticala, this city, over the weekend, asked the help of President Rodrigo Duterte to investigate the controversial P565-million Butuan Bulk Water Supply Project since the project has encroached their ancestral domain without proper consultation.
The barangay officials, where the project is located, led in protesting the project by writing letters of complaints to the Department of Interior and Local Government, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and the National Water Rights Board. The officials also copy furnished the Offices of the President and the secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
“We are here begging you to hear us and investigate our problem for fairness to everybody of whose telling the truth,” their letter of complaint reads in part. The lumad leaders also furnished this paper copies of their letters of complaint.
In April 23, 2013, private firms Taguibo Aquatech Solutions Corporation (TASC) and its subsidiaries, Equiparco Construction and Twin Peak Hydro Resources Corporation signed a 25-year –– but extendable for another 25 years making it a total to 50 years –– P565-million Butuan Bulk Water Supply contract agreement between Butuan City Water District (BCWD).
However, the lumads and residents which host the project site complained there was no “real public consultations at all.”
In the same complaint letter, the indigenes complained that the bulk water project destroyed the ecology, environment, their fishing grounds, burial, hunting grounds which composes their ancestral domain under Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title No. 135 issued by the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP).
“In fact this controversial P565-million Butuan Bulk Water Supply Project they also called Water Supply Development and Water Treatment Service Facility from the very start has no Environmental Compliance Certificate. Already destroying the environment, cutting naturally grown trees thousands of them due clearing operations for the building of huge dam. We suspect in preparation for hydro-power plant project but they disguise calling it ‘Weir.’ This dam we do not know if it passed the earthquake resiliency test as we fear it endangers lives of thousands of residents living below it,” Datu Mahigug-maon Rolando Dandanon, newly elected CADT 135 Tribal Chieftain Datu Silatan Freddie Cabaton and Baran-gay Chairman Armando Boligol of Barangay Anticala in their letters to President Duterte and new DENR Secretary Gina Lopez reads in part.
The project proponent, Taguibo Aquatech Solutions Corporation (TASC), was ordered by the Environmental Management Bureau-Caraga Regional Director Metodio Turbella on Nov. 4, 2013 to “cease and desist,” to stop the firm from destroying the ecology of the ancestral land with its earth moving heavy equipment.
The order confirmed destructions of the environment notwithstanding cutting of large numbers of naturally grown trees and the huge side cuts side slopes of the Taguibo River in Sitio Iyao and Barangay Taguibo that causes massive erosion
The complaining tribal leaders and members are now asking pro-environment DENR Secretary Gina Lopez to conduct a rigorous and impartial probe why the same EMB office that issued the cease and desist order would issue a contradictory environmental compliance certificate.
They added they have nothing against water supply development project for Butuan City but it should have undergone proper procedures and genuine public consultations in respect with the indigenes living in their ancestral domain –– their home since time immemorial.
They claimed that instead all indigenes and residents be consulted only then Tribal Chieftain Datu Buhay Ruben Dapiniagan and his group were approached by TASC and Memorandum of Agreement was signed making it appear the entire lumad members and residents were consulted but in reality allegedly there was no proper consultations and comprehensive information drive were made.
Thus as a result, the tribal community in the area recently replaced Datu Buhay as tribal chieftain with Datu Silatan as the new leader and chieftain of CADT 135 with letters sent to TASC that they will only honor Datu Silatan not Datu Buhay.
CADT 135 tribal elders 91 years old Datu Kibiatan Alfredo Dapiniagan, Datu Polowanon Ben I. Carlos, Datu Pantagan Yag-ud Antong and Datu Manda-gangan Warlito Mandag in their June 25, 2016 follow up letter to the National Water Rights Board (NWRB) asked Atty. Elenito Baga-hilog, Chief of the Water Rights Division, NWRB and Dr. Sevillo D. David Jr., NWRB Executive Director why the lumads of Sitio Iyao, Barangay Anticala and surrounding tribal villages were never consulted, invited to attend in the NWRB public hearing on water rights for the use of Taguibo River which is a public domain.
The hearing was about petition filed by Taguibo Aquatech Solutions Corporation (TASC) and the Butuan City Water District (BCWD) for approval of Deed of Usufruct and amendment of water permit issued to BCWD to be transferred to private firm TASC.
The tribes and residents in Sitio Iyao and tribal villages of Barangay Anticala complained they were never invited by NWRB in their already two scheduled hearings last May 16 and June 6 for the petition which were all violations of its own charter by which it must consult all affected sectors for issuance of water rights permits and amendments.
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