Dennis Uy, presidential friend, has proposed a P103-M bulk water project in Tiaong, Quezon. Residents and National Irrigation Administration officials are opposing the project.
A BULK water supply project in Quezon province, proposed by Udenna Water Integrated Inc. owned by Davao businessman and presidential friend Dennis Uy, is facing stiff opposition from the local government of Tiaong and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Region 4-A.
The Lumbo Spring Bulk Water Supply Project, costing P103 million, is said to have been awarded already in November last year to the consortium led by Uy’s Udenna Water through a public-private partnership scheme.
The Dolores Water District (DWD) and San Pablo City Water District (SPCWD) have entered into a 25-year agreement for the water supply and development and rehabilitation of Lumbo Spring which is located west of Dolores town in Quezon province and south of San Pablo city in Laguna province.
NIA position paper
The NIA Region 4-A has submitted a position paper to Tiaong municipal mayor Ramon Preza expressing its strong opposition to the continuation of the Lumbo water supply project.
It said that the project will directly affect the Lagnas River Irrigation System which currently serves 7 irrigators associations which has a total rice area of 696 hectares and 388 farmer-beneficiaries.
The position paper signed by Fidel Martinez, division manager at NIA’s Quezon Irrigation Management Office, said that there is a clear threat of irrigation water shortage due to the increasing numbers of water users both for domestic and agricultural use.
Martinez said the Lumbo water supply project “will jeopardize the government’s thrust towards food security and will decrease farmers’ potential income.”
Uy-led consortium
The Uy-led consortium is composed of Udenna Water, Spanish firm Inclam, S.A. and Optimus Engineering and Construction. The consortium is set to construct a facility that will draw about 12 million liters of water daily from Lumbo Spring, the bulk of which will be diverted and sold to users from San Pablo city in Laguna.
The consortium will design, construct, and install raw water intake structures, treated water reservoirs, conveyance systems, pumping stations, metered interconnections facilities to the 2 water districts while the maintainance of the pipelines will remain with the DWD and SPCWD.
The PPP Center has provided technical assistance in the development and procurement of the project to the 2 water districts.
Farmers’ concerns
For his part, Tiaong mayor Preza has stated earlier, prior to NIA’s position paper, about the farmers’ concerns and the possibility of a further slowdown or reduction of water flow to their rice fields.
The mayor said that the reduction of water supply will have a significant impact on the cultivation of rice, high value crops and raising of animals in more than half of the barangays of his town.
Preza appealed for consultation before such water supply project is undertaken where all stakeholders are given opportunity to air their concerns.
Early this month, more than 300 farmers and residents have staged a protest rally at the Tiaong municipal hall denouncing the water project at Lumbo Spring which they claimed belongs to them.
Joe Barcelona, president of Tiaong Irrigators Association said that one of the main sources of water that flows into the rivers and creeks that brings water to the 16 barangays is the Bulakin River which draws a large portion of water from Lumbo Spring.
SP resolution
On Feb. 17, 2020 the Sangguniang Panglalawigan, passed a resolution directing DWD and SPCWD to suspend the implementation of the memorandum of undertaking (MOU) to rehabilitate the water system in Dolores and develop a new water source in Lumbo Spring.
The SP resolution claimed that no public consultation took place for the said MOU and the local government has no knowledge about it adding that up until Feb. 4, 2020 SP committee hearing, the mayor’s office of Dolores, its Sangguniang Bayan and the provincial government have not received a copy of the agreement.
The DWD and SPCWD had earlier entered into a Water Supply Development and Rehabilitation Assistance Agreement on April 16, 2008 for the rehabilitation of DWD’s existing transmission and rehabilitation water system and development of Lumbo Spring as a new source of potable water with a total project cost of P18,570,000.
On Nov. 26, 2019, both the DWD and SPCWD entered into a memorandum of understanding expanding the terms of their agreement converting the project into a public-private partnership (PPP) and increasing the cost of the project to P103,400,000.