SP backs MOA institutionalizing watershed management council

RECOGNIZING the government’s role in environmental protection and management, the 20th City Council, during its 88th regular session presided over by Vice Mayor Bebot, enacted an ordinance authorizing Mayor Rolando A. Uy to enter into and sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) institutionalizing the Agusan-Cugman Cluster of Watershed Management Council.

Under the MOA, the management will help in harmonizing development initiatives to manage, protect, and rehabilitate the said watershed located between two major river basins of Cagayan de Oro and Tagoloan and whose headwaters originate from Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park, an ASEAN Heritage Park in Region 10.

The Executive Committee of the council, who is tasked to oversee the integration, adaptation, and implementation of watershed related policies, plans, and programs, will compose of the regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-X who will sit as chairperson and the representatives of the Department of Interior and Local Government-X (DILG-10), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA-10), City Local Government Unit of Cagayan de Oro, Provincial Local Government Unit of Bukidnon, and the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc as co-chairs.

They will be complemented by the technical working group as well as the sectoral groups from the National Government Agencies (NGAs), Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), Local Government Units (LGUs), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), security and religious groups, the academe, business sector, and people’s organizations to help hasten the goal towards a sustainable use of natural resources within the watershed in a manner that is environmentally sound, economically viable, and socially acceptable.

It may be recalled that a representative from DENR bared during the meeting of the Committee on Environment that the body was initially formed in 2015 through the Integrated Natural Resources and Environment Management (INREM) project of DENR. However, it cannot be created without a legal framework.

With this, the DENR issued the guidelines for its creation in 2021, thus the re-establishment of the council in 2023 with 46 member agencies and offices.

The creation of the council is aligned with Republic Act No. 9275, also known as the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, which safeguards the country’s bodies of water from pollution from land-based sources through a multi-sectoral and participatory approach.

The Committees on Environment and on Laws and Rules, chaired by Councilor Roger Abaday and Councilor Cabanlas respectively, sponsored the legislation.