Anti-soil extraction ordinance sought

CEBU, Philippines - The Butuanon River Watershed Management Board has passed a resolution recommending to the City Council of Mandaue to create an ordinance declaring the entire stretch on both sides of the river as a non-extraction zone.

The resolution has been approved by the members of the board in a meeting last month officiated by Mandaue City Legal Officer Lawyer Giovanni Tianero.

The resolution cited existing City Ordinance No. 10-2005-322 Section 3 which provides that it is unlawful for any person, natural or juridical or government entity/instrumentality to extract, take and dispose of any of the minerals from public water or in public or private lands within the territorial jurisdiction of the city unless authorized under a permit issued by the mayor.

Engineer Ricardo Mendoza, director of the City's Solid Waste Management Office, reported during the meeting that there are illegal soil extraction activities along Butuanon River on the side of Barangay Tingub and Barangay Casuntingan.

Mendoza presented photographs to the members of the board to support his claim.

According to the board, extraction will impact on the river's water quality and will lead to erosion of channel bed and banks, the undercutting and collapse of river banks, the loss of adjacent land and structure.

The lack of funds has been tagged as the reason for the delay in the implementation of the river's rehabilitation but the Mandaue City government has already allocated an initial amount of P6.5 million to finance the Phase 1 of the rehabilitation.

A memorandum of agreement was signed two years ago by the Mandaue City and Cebu City governments, as well as non-government organizations, for the full rehabilitation of the Butuanon River. The members of the Butuanon River Watershed Management Board also part of the signatories of the said agreement.

Butuanon River is a highly-contaminated water body which is bordering along densely-populated areas in Mandaue City and Cebu City.

The watershed occupies 1,500 hectares with 12 barangays in Cebu City and nine barangays in Mandaue City.

There are riverbank areas downstream which are occupied by informal settlers and pointed as danger zones.  (FREEMAN)