Zozobrado appeals to colleagues: make laws work

Councilor Rachel Zozobrado appealed to fellow members of the 15th City Council to try to make the laws they have approved work before attempting to amend or change it to suit certain needs.

“This representation humbly appeals dear Colleagues that we make the enactments and ordinances that we have made work, just a little bit more,” Zozobrado said. If we must amend, she said, let us amend when the cobwebs of doubt have been totally cleared from our minds and our hearts.

Zozobrado’s appeal came as a result of an issue that has divided the city council into choosing between water or power. The issue stems from the hydropower plant being proposed by Hedcor in the Tamugan River which has been identified by the Watershed Code as a conservation area.

Hedcor and the Davao City Water District are fighting for the right to use the Tamugan-Panigan River. There is not question that both DCWD and Hedcor’s goals and efforts are laudable and will inure to the benefit of Dabawenyos.

However, Zozobrado said, the Tamugan-Panigan River has been identified under the Watershed Code as an environmentally-critical area where development or commercial activity of any sort is prohibited to ensure the sustainability of the city’s water supply.

“The Watershed Code’s goal is to shield the ecosystem and the communities benefiting from the watershed area from the dangers of commercial activity,” she said. Of course, she added, the city council can amend the Code but maybe that will defeat the purpose of enacting the Code in the first place.

Zozobrado said Dabawenyos are confronted with the stark reality that “when push comes to shove, we have to choose only one—water or power?” The fact however is that while the earth’s surface is 70% water, only a small part of the earth’s fresh water is actually potable or safe for human use.

“The importance of preserving watersheds, aquifer and other water resource for the primary purpose of sourcing potable water supply for the city could not be overemphasized,” she said. It is thus clear, she added, that the purpose of the authors of the Watershed Code in expressly prohibiting commercial activities in the watershed areas is to ensure the sustainability of the city’s water supply.