Bridges, Tunnels, and Dams

[Animo]

DENR disowns La Mesa


BY MARK ROBLAS, The Manila Times Researcher and JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA, The Manila Times Reporter

La Mesa Dam, the source of Metro Manila’s water supply, is not a protected area, as far as the Department of Environment and National Resources is concerned.

This disclosure came amid controversy over the proposal to build houses for more than 1,400 rank-and-file employees of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System within the La Mesa Watershed.

Tess Blaspike, chief of the DENR’s Resource Assessment Division, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, said La Mesa does not fall under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) of the department. Therefore, she added, the DENR has no mandate over it.

It is obvious, even to Blaspike, that La Mesa is a watershed, having a vast and thick forest cover. That is why, she said, she is at a loss why it has not been officially classified and declared as such.

"Under NIPAS provisions, the entire area should have been proclaimed a reservation long ago," she said.

Alice Castillo, chief of the DENR’s Watershed Division, Forest Management Bureau, said the MWSS holds a title over the watershed. The title, granted by the Spanish Royal Crown, makes the whole area alienable and disposable.

Like everybody else, Castillo said, DENR officials worry about MWSS plans to build houses in the 58-hectare portion of the watershed for its rank-and-file employees. However, she said, the department is powerless to stop it.

It now turns out that there is an existing housing project occupied by top MWSS executives within the La Mesa Watershed, and it poses a greater risk of contamination to the water reservoir.

MWSS officials’ enclave

According to Sinag ng Bayan Foundation, a member of the Save La Mesa Dam Coalition, MWSS Administrator Orlando Hondrade owns one of the 54 houses in the three-hectare executive housing site, aside from a Commission on Audit auditor and a lawyer at the Office of the Government Corporate Council.

The MWSS proposal has come under attack by the coalition because of the distinct possibility of contamination.

However, Mar Canonigo of Sinag ng Bayan pointed out the proposed housing site is more than a kilometer from the reservoir. On the other hand, the executive housing site is less than a kilometer away, and it lies above the lake.

Canonigo said the executive housing is a practically an enclave for the powerful, guarded by Marines.

"If the coalition is really serious about protecting the only source of water for Metro Manila, then it should remove all residential structures within the watershed, including the executive houses, as well as prevent the building of new ones," Canonigo said.

Negative effects

The coalition, led by ABS-CBN Foundation, cites a study of the UP National Hydraulic Research Center, which says the rank-and-file employee housing would have negative effects on the water source for Metro Manila’s 12 million residents.

[Animo]

DENR disowns La Mesa


BY MARK ROBLAS, The Manila Times Researcher and JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA, The Manila Times Reporter

La Mesa Dam, the source of Metro Manila’s water supply, is not a protected area, as far as the Department of Environment and National Resources is concerned.

This disclosure came amid controversy over the proposal to build houses for more than 1,400 rank-and-file employees of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System within the La Mesa Watershed.

Tess Blaspike, chief of the DENR’s Resource Assessment Division, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, said La Mesa does not fall under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) of the department. Therefore, she added, the DENR has no mandate over it.

It is obvious, even to Blaspike, that La Mesa is a watershed, having a vast and thick forest cover. That is why, she said, she is at a loss why it has not been officially classified and declared as such.

"Under NIPAS provisions, the entire area should have been proclaimed a reservation long ago," she said.

Alice Castillo, chief of the DENR’s Watershed Division, Forest Management Bureau, said the MWSS holds a title over the watershed. The title, granted by the Spanish Royal Crown, makes the whole area alienable and disposable.

Like everybody else, Castillo said, DENR officials worry about MWSS plans to build houses in the 58-hectare portion of the watershed for its rank-and-file employees. However, she said, the department is powerless to stop it.

It now turns out that there is an existing housing project occupied by top MWSS executives within the La Mesa Watershed, and it poses a greater risk of contamination to the water reservoir.

MWSS officials’ enclave

According to Sinag ng Bayan Foundation, a member of the Save La Mesa Dam Coalition, MWSS Administrator Orlando Hondrade owns one of the 54 houses in the three-hectare executive housing site, aside from a Commission on Audit auditor and a lawyer at the Office of the Government Corporate Council.

The MWSS proposal has come under attack by the coalition because of the distinct possibility of contamination.

However, Mar Canonigo of Sinag ng Bayan pointed out the proposed housing site is more than a kilometer from the reservoir. On the other hand, the executive housing site is less than a kilometer away, and it lies above the lake.

Canonigo said the executive housing is a practically an enclave for the powerful, guarded by Marines.

"If the coalition is really serious about protecting the only source of water for Metro Manila, then it should remove all residential structures within the watershed, including the executive houses, as well as prevent the building of new ones," Canonigo said.

Negative effects

The coalition, led by ABS-CBN Foundation, cites a study of the UP National Hydraulic Research Center, which says the rank-and-file employee housing would have negative effects on the water source for Metro Manila’s 12 million residents.

[Animo]

DENR disowns La Mesa


BY MARK ROBLAS, The Manila Times Researcher and JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA, The Manila Times Reporter

La Mesa Dam, the source of Metro Manila’s water supply, is not a protected area, as far as the Department of Environment and National Resources is concerned.

This disclosure came amid controversy over the proposal to build houses for more than 1,400 rank-and-file employees of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System within the La Mesa Watershed.

Tess Blaspike, chief of the DENR’s Resource Assessment Division, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, said La Mesa does not fall under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) of the department. Therefore, she added, the DENR has no mandate over it.

It is obvious, even to Blaspike, that La Mesa is a watershed, having a vast and thick forest cover. That is why, she said, she is at a loss why it has not been officially classified and declared as such.

"Under NIPAS provisions, the entire area should have been proclaimed a reservation long ago," she said.

Alice Castillo, chief of the DENR’s Watershed Division, Forest Management Bureau, said the MWSS holds a title over the watershed. The title, granted by the Spanish Royal Crown, makes the whole area alienable and disposable.

Like everybody else, Castillo said, DENR officials worry about MWSS plans to build houses in the 58-hectare portion of the watershed for its rank-and-file employees. However, she said, the department is powerless to stop it.

It now turns out that there is an existing housing project occupied by top MWSS executives within the La Mesa Watershed, and it poses a greater risk of contamination to the water reservoir.

MWSS officials’ enclave

According to Sinag ng Bayan Foundation, a member of the Save La Mesa Dam Coalition, MWSS Administrator Orlando Hondrade owns one of the 54 houses in the three-hectare executive housing site, aside from a Commission on Audit auditor and a lawyer at the Office of the Government Corporate Council.

The MWSS proposal has come under attack by the coalition because of the distinct possibility of contamination.

However, Mar Canonigo of Sinag ng Bayan pointed out the proposed housing site is more than a kilometer from the reservoir. On the other hand, the executive housing site is less than a kilometer away, and it lies above the lake.

Canonigo said the executive housing is a practically an enclave for the powerful, guarded by Marines.

"If the coalition is really serious about protecting the only source of water for Metro Manila, then it should remove all residential structures within the watershed, including the executive houses, as well as prevent the building of new ones," Canonigo said.

Negative effects

The coalition, led by ABS-CBN Foundation, cites a study of the UP National Hydraulic Research Center, which says the rank-and-file employee housing would have negative effects on the water source for Metro Manila’s 12 million residents.

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter

The Senate will summon Orlando Hondrade, administrator of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, to appear in a joint committee hearing Tuesday and shed light on the controversy surrounding the housing project for the MWSS’s executives in the La Mesa Watershed.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the oversight committee, would like to verify reports that executives of the MWSS and officials from government offices own residential property within the watershed.

The Manila Times, in its Thursday edition, identified Hondrade as owning one of the 54 houses in the three-hectare MWSS executive village. The others whose names are not immediately known include an auditor working for the Commission on Audit and a lawyer attached to the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.

Cayetano said the MWSS officials had earlier opposed housing for their rank-and-file employees in the watershed. They should now explain why they themselves had built houses for themselves at a site less than a kilometer from the water reservoir, she said.

"We should look into the existing and proposed housing projects and their negative effects, if any, on the fragile environment, whether they benefit the top officials or ordinary workers," she said.

Cayetano and Rep. Nereus Acosta, who heads the House oversight committee, will jointly conduct the investigation. A separate Senate resolution, which Cayetano earlier introduced, seeks to examine the condition of the country’s lakes and watersheds.

Potential threats from two housing projects

"The La Mesa Watershed poses potential threats not just from one but two housing projects," Cayetano said. "The committee will try to determine if there is a basis for the concerns of environmentalists that human waste coming from the housing sites could contaminate water in the reservoir and endanger the health of Metro Manila’s 12 million residents."

Others summoned to the hearing are officers and members of the Save the La Mesa Coalition, who voiced out concerns over the proposed housing project, and experts from the National Hydraulic Research Center of the University of the Philippines’ College of Engineering in Diliman. The center had warned of possible contamination of the reservoir.

Summons will also be sent to the MWSS employees who have been awarded lots in the proposed housing project and to their legal consultant, Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay.

La Mesa covers an area of 2,700 hectares, of which 2,000 are classified as forestland. A man-made lake occupies 700 hectares.

Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal last week filed a bill seeking an investigation into the privatization of the portions of the watershed.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=38499

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter

The Senate will summon Orlando Hondrade, administrator of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, to appear in a joint committee hearing Tuesday and shed light on the controversy surrounding the housing project for the MWSS’s executives in the La Mesa Watershed.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the oversight committee, would like to verify reports that executives of the MWSS and officials from government offices own residential property within the watershed.

The Manila Times, in its Thursday edition, identified Hondrade as owning one of the 54 houses in the three-hectare MWSS executive village. The others whose names are not immediately known include an auditor working for the Commission on Audit and a lawyer attached to the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.

Cayetano said the MWSS officials had earlier opposed housing for their rank-and-file employees in the watershed. They should now explain why they themselves had built houses for themselves at a site less than a kilometer from the water reservoir, she said.

"We should look into the existing and proposed housing projects and their negative effects, if any, on the fragile environment, whether they benefit the top officials or ordinary workers," she said.

Cayetano and Rep. Nereus Acosta, who heads the House oversight committee, will jointly conduct the investigation. A separate Senate resolution, which Cayetano earlier introduced, seeks to examine the condition of the country’s lakes and watersheds.

Potential threats from two housing projects

"The La Mesa Watershed poses potential threats not just from one but two housing projects," Cayetano said. "The committee will try to determine if there is a basis for the concerns of environmentalists that human waste coming from the housing sites could contaminate water in the reservoir and endanger the health of Metro Manila’s 12 million residents."

Others summoned to the hearing are officers and members of the Save the La Mesa Coalition, who voiced out concerns over the proposed housing project, and experts from the National Hydraulic Research Center of the University of the Philippines’ College of Engineering in Diliman. The center had warned of possible contamination of the reservoir.

Summons will also be sent to the MWSS employees who have been awarded lots in the proposed housing project and to their legal consultant, Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay.

La Mesa covers an area of 2,700 hectares, of which 2,000 are classified as forestland. A man-made lake occupies 700 hectares.

Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal last week filed a bill seeking an investigation into the privatization of the portions of the watershed.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=38499

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter

The Senate will summon Orlando Hondrade, administrator of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, to appear in a joint committee hearing Tuesday and shed light on the controversy surrounding the housing project for the MWSS’s executives in the La Mesa Watershed.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the oversight committee, would like to verify reports that executives of the MWSS and officials from government offices own residential property within the watershed.

The Manila Times, in its Thursday edition, identified Hondrade as owning one of the 54 houses in the three-hectare MWSS executive village. The others whose names are not immediately known include an auditor working for the Commission on Audit and a lawyer attached to the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.

Cayetano said the MWSS officials had earlier opposed housing for their rank-and-file employees in the watershed. They should now explain why they themselves had built houses for themselves at a site less than a kilometer from the water reservoir, she said.

"We should look into the existing and proposed housing projects and their negative effects, if any, on the fragile environment, whether they benefit the top officials or ordinary workers," she said.

Cayetano and Rep. Nereus Acosta, who heads the House oversight committee, will jointly conduct the investigation. A separate Senate resolution, which Cayetano earlier introduced, seeks to examine the condition of the country’s lakes and watersheds.

Potential threats from two housing projects

"The La Mesa Watershed poses potential threats not just from one but two housing projects," Cayetano said. "The committee will try to determine if there is a basis for the concerns of environmentalists that human waste coming from the housing sites could contaminate water in the reservoir and endanger the health of Metro Manila’s 12 million residents."

Others summoned to the hearing are officers and members of the Save the La Mesa Coalition, who voiced out concerns over the proposed housing project, and experts from the National Hydraulic Research Center of the University of the Philippines’ College of Engineering in Diliman. The center had warned of possible contamination of the reservoir.

Summons will also be sent to the MWSS employees who have been awarded lots in the proposed housing project and to their legal consultant, Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay.

La Mesa covers an area of 2,700 hectares, of which 2,000 are classified as forestland. A man-made lake occupies 700 hectares.

Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal last week filed a bill seeking an investigation into the privatization of the portions of the watershed.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=38499

[Animo]

By RONNIE CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter

Administrator Orlando Hondrade of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) admitted on Tuesday the existence of a housing complex for the water agency’s top executives within the La Mesa watershed at a Senate committee hearing.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, had called an investigation to determine the veracity of reports that MWSS executives had built their own houses in the watershed, which environmentalists fear could contaminate the 700-hectare reservoir, the source of potable water for the 12 million Metro Manila residents.

To a question posed by the senator, Hondrade replied most MWSS top executives and their families had already moved to the houses in the three-hectare executive village. He also said he owned one of the 54 houses but hastened to add that it had a floor area of only 60 square meters.

"It was originally a 30-square-meter house, but I extended it to have a receiving room, just one room," he said.

The existence of the MWSS executive village came to light when Marianito Canonigo of Sinag, a nongovernment organization, one of the founding members of Save La Mesa Dam coalition, broke the news.

The Save La Mesa Dam Coalition had opposed the proposed 58-hectare housing project for the 1,411 MWSS rank-and-file employees.

In the Senate hearing Hondrade owned up to the possibility of human waste leaching into the reservoir from the houses if their construction is allowed to proceed. He assured the committee, however, that measures are in place to ensure that household waste, including sewage, does not drain untreated into the reservoir.

The measures, according to Honrade, include the construction of the P46 million waste-treatment plant, where household water is treated before it is allowed to empty into the reservoir.

Asked by Cayetano if the MWSS employees and retirees have that kind of money, Honrade replied that the water agency has stipulated the inclusion of the treatment plant in the contract awarded to the company that would build the houses.

Contamination a distinct possibility

He was forced to acknowledge the danger after Virgilio Basa, an expert from the National Mapping and Resources Authority of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, informed the committee that contamination was a distinct possibility. Both the proposed and existing housing projects, he noted, are located above the man-made lake.

Jaime Jose Fernandez, project director of Bantay Kalikasan, questioned the effectiveness of a waste-treatment plant. No conceivable measure, he said, can be adopted to prevent contamination. In support of this view, he cited the study made by the National Hydraulic Research Center of the University of the Philippines’ College of Engineering.

"It (La Mesa Dam watershed) is the only remaining forest of its size in Metro Manila," Fernandez said. "We hope the government would declare it a protected area."

A tract of land or body of water classified as protected is off limits to man-made structures, including residential houses.

The 700-hectare lake, replenished all year round from Angat Dam in Bulacan, is the source of potable water for the 13 million residents of Metro Manila and 8 million inhabitants of Cavite and parts of Rizal province.

Relocation the best solution

To a suggestion from Cayetano, Genaro Bautista, president of the Kaisahan at Kapatiran ng mga Manggagawa at Kawani ng Nawasa, said he would ask the MWSS employees and retirees if they would consent to relocate their housing site outside the watershed.

Cayetano said relocation seemed to be the best solution to the problem. She noted there have been assurances that contamination could be prevented, but there is no point risking it.

For his part, Canonigo said the government should remove the houses in the MWSS executive village. He said the site is within a one-kilometer radius from the reservoir. The proposed housing for ordinary employees is three kilometers away.

"Fairness requires the removal of the houses if we don’t allow the development of a housing project for ordinary employees in the same watershed," Canonigo said.

La Mesa covers 2,700 hectares, of which 2,000 are classified as forestland.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=38958

[Animo]

By RONNIE CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter

Administrator Orlando Hondrade of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) admitted on Tuesday the existence of a housing complex for the water agency’s top executives within the La Mesa watershed at a Senate committee hearing.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, had called an investigation to determine the veracity of reports that MWSS executives had built their own houses in the watershed, which environmentalists fear could contaminate the 700-hectare reservoir, the source of potable water for the 12 million Metro Manila residents.

To a question posed by the senator, Hondrade replied most MWSS top executives and their families had already moved to the houses in the three-hectare executive village. He also said he owned one of the 54 houses but hastened to add that it had a floor area of only 60 square meters.

"It was originally a 30-square-meter house, but I extended it to have a receiving room, just one room," he said.

The existence of the MWSS executive village came to light when Marianito Canonigo of Sinag, a nongovernment organization, one of the founding members of Save La Mesa Dam coalition, broke the news.

The Save La Mesa Dam Coalition had opposed the proposed 58-hectare housing project for the 1,411 MWSS rank-and-file employees.

In the Senate hearing Hondrade owned up to the possibility of human waste leaching into the reservoir from the houses if their construction is allowed to proceed. He assured the committee, however, that measures are in place to ensure that household waste, including sewage, does not drain untreated into the reservoir.

The measures, according to Honrade, include the construction of the P46 million waste-treatment plant, where household water is treated before it is allowed to empty into the reservoir.

Asked by Cayetano if the MWSS employees and retirees have that kind of money, Honrade replied that the water agency has stipulated the inclusion of the treatment plant in the contract awarded to the company that would build the houses.

Contamination a distinct possibility

He was forced to acknowledge the danger after Virgilio Basa, an expert from the National Mapping and Resources Authority of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, informed the committee that contamination was a distinct possibility. Both the proposed and existing housing projects, he noted, are located above the man-made lake.

Jaime Jose Fernandez, project director of Bantay Kalikasan, questioned the effectiveness of a waste-treatment plant. No conceivable measure, he said, can be adopted to prevent contamination. In support of this view, he cited the study made by the National Hydraulic Research Center of the University of the Philippines’ College of Engineering.

"It (La Mesa Dam watershed) is the only remaining forest of its size in Metro Manila," Fernandez said. "We hope the government would declare it a protected area."

A tract of land or body of water classified as protected is off limits to man-made structures, including residential houses.

The 700-hectare lake, replenished all year round from Angat Dam in Bulacan, is the source of potable water for the 13 million residents of Metro Manila and 8 million inhabitants of Cavite and parts of Rizal province.

Relocation the best solution

To a suggestion from Cayetano, Genaro Bautista, president of the Kaisahan at Kapatiran ng mga Manggagawa at Kawani ng Nawasa, said he would ask the MWSS employees and retirees if they would consent to relocate their housing site outside the watershed.

Cayetano said relocation seemed to be the best solution to the problem. She noted there have been assurances that contamination could be prevented, but there is no point risking it.

For his part, Canonigo said the government should remove the houses in the MWSS executive village. He said the site is within a one-kilometer radius from the reservoir. The proposed housing for ordinary employees is three kilometers away.

"Fairness requires the removal of the houses if we don’t allow the development of a housing project for ordinary employees in the same watershed," Canonigo said.

La Mesa covers 2,700 hectares, of which 2,000 are classified as forestland.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=38958

[Animo]

By RONNIE CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter

Administrator Orlando Hondrade of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) admitted on Tuesday the existence of a housing complex for the water agency’s top executives within the La Mesa watershed at a Senate committee hearing.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, had called an investigation to determine the veracity of reports that MWSS executives had built their own houses in the watershed, which environmentalists fear could contaminate the 700-hectare reservoir, the source of potable water for the 12 million Metro Manila residents.

To a question posed by the senator, Hondrade replied most MWSS top executives and their families had already moved to the houses in the three-hectare executive village. He also said he owned one of the 54 houses but hastened to add that it had a floor area of only 60 square meters.

"It was originally a 30-square-meter house, but I extended it to have a receiving room, just one room," he said.

The existence of the MWSS executive village came to light when Marianito Canonigo of Sinag, a nongovernment organization, one of the founding members of Save La Mesa Dam coalition, broke the news.

The Save La Mesa Dam Coalition had opposed the proposed 58-hectare housing project for the 1,411 MWSS rank-and-file employees.

In the Senate hearing Hondrade owned up to the possibility of human waste leaching into the reservoir from the houses if their construction is allowed to proceed. He assured the committee, however, that measures are in place to ensure that household waste, including sewage, does not drain untreated into the reservoir.

The measures, according to Honrade, include the construction of the P46 million waste-treatment plant, where household water is treated before it is allowed to empty into the reservoir.

Asked by Cayetano if the MWSS employees and retirees have that kind of money, Honrade replied that the water agency has stipulated the inclusion of the treatment plant in the contract awarded to the company that would build the houses.

Contamination a distinct possibility

He was forced to acknowledge the danger after Virgilio Basa, an expert from the National Mapping and Resources Authority of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, informed the committee that contamination was a distinct possibility. Both the proposed and existing housing projects, he noted, are located above the man-made lake.

Jaime Jose Fernandez, project director of Bantay Kalikasan, questioned the effectiveness of a waste-treatment plant. No conceivable measure, he said, can be adopted to prevent contamination. In support of this view, he cited the study made by the National Hydraulic Research Center of the University of the Philippines’ College of Engineering.

"It (La Mesa Dam watershed) is the only remaining forest of its size in Metro Manila," Fernandez said. "We hope the government would declare it a protected area."

A tract of land or body of water classified as protected is off limits to man-made structures, including residential houses.

The 700-hectare lake, replenished all year round from Angat Dam in Bulacan, is the source of potable water for the 13 million residents of Metro Manila and 8 million inhabitants of Cavite and parts of Rizal province.

Relocation the best solution

To a suggestion from Cayetano, Genaro Bautista, president of the Kaisahan at Kapatiran ng mga Manggagawa at Kawani ng Nawasa, said he would ask the MWSS employees and retirees if they would consent to relocate their housing site outside the watershed.

Cayetano said relocation seemed to be the best solution to the problem. She noted there have been assurances that contamination could be prevented, but there is no point risking it.

For his part, Canonigo said the government should remove the houses in the MWSS executive village. He said the site is within a one-kilometer radius from the reservoir. The proposed housing for ordinary employees is three kilometers away.

"Fairness requires the removal of the houses if we don’t allow the development of a housing project for ordinary employees in the same watershed," Canonigo said.

La Mesa covers 2,700 hectares, of which 2,000 are classified as forestland.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=38958

[Animo]

By MARK IVAN ROBLES, The Manila Times Researcher

Dumping wastewater into the La Mesa reservoir even after treatment is totally unacceptable, a Department of Environment and Natural Resources official said Wednesday.

At Tuesday’s Senate hearing, Administrator Orlando Honrade of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System disclosed a plan to pipe the wastewater of close to 1,500 families, including that from their sewer deposit, into the source of drinking water for 12 million Metro Manila residents. He assured the committee conducting the hearing, however, that a P46-million waste-treatment plant would be set up to purify the water before releasing it into the reservoir.

But Alice Castillo, chief of the watershed division of DENR’s Forest Management Bureau, said the most modern plant cannot guarantee the purity of the water that goes through it. And increasing the amount of chlorine, as MWSS proposes to do, will not decrease chances of contamination.

"Would the wastewater [even with a massive dosage of chlorine] be safe for drinking?" Castillo asked.

She suggested that the MWSS build houses for its employees elsewhere to eliminate the danger altogether. As for the 2,700-hectare watershed, she said the government should declare it a forestland and a protected area, a technical classification that renders it off limits to all kinds of development.

MWSS has set aside a 58-hectare land within the La Mesa watershed for the construction of houses for its 1,411 rank-and-file employees. The proposal, however, set off a storm of protest from environmentalists.

"The welfare of millions should prevail over the interest of the few," Castillo said.

In the Senate hearing Honrade acknowledged the existence of MWSS housing for top officers in a three-hectare portion of the watershed. He also admitted owning one of the 54 houses there.

Contacted for comment, Mayor Feliciano Belmonte of Quezon City said he assumed a building permit had been issued for the construction of the existing houses. He said, however, that he has yet to receive any application for the proposed housing project.

On the other hand, Katarungan at Kalikasan sa Magandang Kinabukasan (KKK), an environmental group, on Wednesday asked the DENR to stop the La Mesa Ecopark operation, an undertaking managed by the Bantay Kalikasan, a founding NGO member of the Save La Mesa Dam.

Francisco Catibayan, convener of the KKK, said the project has no environmental compliance certificate despite its proximity to the reservoir.

DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes said Friday that he has ordered a Protected Area Suitability Assessment for the 2,700-hectare watershed to determine which parts should be declared protected.

The Manila Times had quoted Tess Blaspike, chief of the Resource Assessment Division, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, as saying that La Mesa is not classified under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS). Under NIPAS rules, the whole watershed should have been declared a protected reservation long ago.

Reyes said that as DENR secretary, he was asked to give recommendations on the impact of the housing project on the watershed.

"If it’s a protected area, then we are effectively declaring that it’s in the public interest that you don’t have establishments and structures there," Reyes said.

The study will be conducted by a team of environment experts, and Reyes will submit its recommendations to President Arroyo for action.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39048

[Animo]

By MARK IVAN ROBLES, The Manila Times Researcher

Dumping wastewater into the La Mesa reservoir even after treatment is totally unacceptable, a Department of Environment and Natural Resources official said Wednesday.

At Tuesday’s Senate hearing, Administrator Orlando Honrade of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System disclosed a plan to pipe the wastewater of close to 1,500 families, including that from their sewer deposit, into the source of drinking water for 12 million Metro Manila residents. He assured the committee conducting the hearing, however, that a P46-million waste-treatment plant would be set up to purify the water before releasing it into the reservoir.

But Alice Castillo, chief of the watershed division of DENR’s Forest Management Bureau, said the most modern plant cannot guarantee the purity of the water that goes through it. And increasing the amount of chlorine, as MWSS proposes to do, will not decrease chances of contamination.

"Would the wastewater [even with a massive dosage of chlorine] be safe for drinking?" Castillo asked.

She suggested that the MWSS build houses for its employees elsewhere to eliminate the danger altogether. As for the 2,700-hectare watershed, she said the government should declare it a forestland and a protected area, a technical classification that renders it off limits to all kinds of development.

MWSS has set aside a 58-hectare land within the La Mesa watershed for the construction of houses for its 1,411 rank-and-file employees. The proposal, however, set off a storm of protest from environmentalists.

"The welfare of millions should prevail over the interest of the few," Castillo said.

In the Senate hearing Honrade acknowledged the existence of MWSS housing for top officers in a three-hectare portion of the watershed. He also admitted owning one of the 54 houses there.

Contacted for comment, Mayor Feliciano Belmonte of Quezon City said he assumed a building permit had been issued for the construction of the existing houses. He said, however, that he has yet to receive any application for the proposed housing project.

On the other hand, Katarungan at Kalikasan sa Magandang Kinabukasan (KKK), an environmental group, on Wednesday asked the DENR to stop the La Mesa Ecopark operation, an undertaking managed by the Bantay Kalikasan, a founding NGO member of the Save La Mesa Dam.

Francisco Catibayan, convener of the KKK, said the project has no environmental compliance certificate despite its proximity to the reservoir.

DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes said Friday that he has ordered a Protected Area Suitability Assessment for the 2,700-hectare watershed to determine which parts should be declared protected.

The Manila Times had quoted Tess Blaspike, chief of the Resource Assessment Division, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, as saying that La Mesa is not classified under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS). Under NIPAS rules, the whole watershed should have been declared a protected reservation long ago.

Reyes said that as DENR secretary, he was asked to give recommendations on the impact of the housing project on the watershed.

"If it’s a protected area, then we are effectively declaring that it’s in the public interest that you don’t have establishments and structures there," Reyes said.

The study will be conducted by a team of environment experts, and Reyes will submit its recommendations to President Arroyo for action.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39048

[Animo]

By MARK IVAN ROBLES, The Manila Times Researcher

Dumping wastewater into the La Mesa reservoir even after treatment is totally unacceptable, a Department of Environment and Natural Resources official said Wednesday.

At Tuesday’s Senate hearing, Administrator Orlando Honrade of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System disclosed a plan to pipe the wastewater of close to 1,500 families, including that from their sewer deposit, into the source of drinking water for 12 million Metro Manila residents. He assured the committee conducting the hearing, however, that a P46-million waste-treatment plant would be set up to purify the water before releasing it into the reservoir.

But Alice Castillo, chief of the watershed division of DENR’s Forest Management Bureau, said the most modern plant cannot guarantee the purity of the water that goes through it. And increasing the amount of chlorine, as MWSS proposes to do, will not decrease chances of contamination.

"Would the wastewater [even with a massive dosage of chlorine] be safe for drinking?" Castillo asked.

She suggested that the MWSS build houses for its employees elsewhere to eliminate the danger altogether. As for the 2,700-hectare watershed, she said the government should declare it a forestland and a protected area, a technical classification that renders it off limits to all kinds of development.

MWSS has set aside a 58-hectare land within the La Mesa watershed for the construction of houses for its 1,411 rank-and-file employees. The proposal, however, set off a storm of protest from environmentalists.

"The welfare of millions should prevail over the interest of the few," Castillo said.

In the Senate hearing Honrade acknowledged the existence of MWSS housing for top officers in a three-hectare portion of the watershed. He also admitted owning one of the 54 houses there.

Contacted for comment, Mayor Feliciano Belmonte of Quezon City said he assumed a building permit had been issued for the construction of the existing houses. He said, however, that he has yet to receive any application for the proposed housing project.

On the other hand, Katarungan at Kalikasan sa Magandang Kinabukasan (KKK), an environmental group, on Wednesday asked the DENR to stop the La Mesa Ecopark operation, an undertaking managed by the Bantay Kalikasan, a founding NGO member of the Save La Mesa Dam.

Francisco Catibayan, convener of the KKK, said the project has no environmental compliance certificate despite its proximity to the reservoir.

DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes said Friday that he has ordered a Protected Area Suitability Assessment for the 2,700-hectare watershed to determine which parts should be declared protected.

The Manila Times had quoted Tess Blaspike, chief of the Resource Assessment Division, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, as saying that La Mesa is not classified under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS). Under NIPAS rules, the whole watershed should have been declared a protected reservation long ago.

Reyes said that as DENR secretary, he was asked to give recommendations on the impact of the housing project on the watershed.

"If it’s a protected area, then we are effectively declaring that it’s in the public interest that you don’t have establishments and structures there," Reyes said.

The study will be conducted by a team of environment experts, and Reyes will submit its recommendations to President Arroyo for action.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39048

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter and MARK IVAN ROBLAS, The Manila Times Researcher

Not 54 but 120 houses are being built for executives of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System on a 3.3-hectare site in the La Mesa Watershed.

Dexter Santillan, MWSS deputy administrator for administration and support services, said Thursday there are more houses in the executive village than what top officials of the water agency have led the public to believe. He denied, however, that the housing project is exclusive to the water agency’s top officials.

"It is not only for top executives," he explained. "Other employees, including the rank and file, if they have the right amount of money can build their houses here," he told reporters during the inspection of the site.

Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal, a member of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee and Oversight Committee on Clean Water, led the inspection party. The two committees are conducting an investigation to determine the legality of the executive housing and 58-hectare housing for rank-and-file employees in the watershed.

Madrigal believes influential persons other than the MWSS executives and employees own houses in the executive housing project. She asked MWSS Administrator Orlando Honrade, who gave the party a drive-through tour of the site, to provide her with a complete list of people who own the houses.

Madrigal told reporters she will invite Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay to appear in the Senate hearing.

Lagman’s role in the controversy

"I think Representative Lagman should explain his role in the controversy over the proposed 58-hectare housing site," she said. "Are the employees the real beneficiaries? In what capacity did Lagman receive these titles? How come the price paid is only P5.50 per square meter, the value in 1968, when the deed of sale was executed in 2006?"

Madrigal showed a copy of a letter from Lagman informing Honrade of a remittance of P3.0914 million as payment for the land. The letter, dated March 8, 2006, bears the letterhead of the House of Representatives.

As regards the executive housing, Madrigal said she wants to know the names of the MWSS executives and employees and all other persons who own the houses and their financial capabilities. She also asked Honrade for a list of employees and retirees who have acquired lots in the 58-hectare housing project.

The existing executive housing and the proposed housing are located above the 700-hectare reservoir, with the former less than a kilometer away.

"I want to know if the original beneficiaries still own the lots, considering that the Supreme Court decision confirming their ownership was issued in 1975," Madrigal said. "And why should a contractor named Ramon Alberto Nollido pay the MWSS and why should he course the payment through Lagman?"

She maintained that the 1999 Environment Compliance Certificate was issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources without public consultation.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39185

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter and MARK IVAN ROBLAS, The Manila Times Researcher

Not 54 but 120 houses are being built for executives of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System on a 3.3-hectare site in the La Mesa Watershed.

Dexter Santillan, MWSS deputy administrator for administration and support services, said Thursday there are more houses in the executive village than what top officials of the water agency have led the public to believe. He denied, however, that the housing project is exclusive to the water agency’s top officials.

"It is not only for top executives," he explained. "Other employees, including the rank and file, if they have the right amount of money can build their houses here," he told reporters during the inspection of the site.

Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal, a member of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee and Oversight Committee on Clean Water, led the inspection party. The two committees are conducting an investigation to determine the legality of the executive housing and 58-hectare housing for rank-and-file employees in the watershed.

Madrigal believes influential persons other than the MWSS executives and employees own houses in the executive housing project. She asked MWSS Administrator Orlando Honrade, who gave the party a drive-through tour of the site, to provide her with a complete list of people who own the houses.

Madrigal told reporters she will invite Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay to appear in the Senate hearing.

Lagman’s role in the controversy

"I think Representative Lagman should explain his role in the controversy over the proposed 58-hectare housing site," she said. "Are the employees the real beneficiaries? In what capacity did Lagman receive these titles? How come the price paid is only P5.50 per square meter, the value in 1968, when the deed of sale was executed in 2006?"

Madrigal showed a copy of a letter from Lagman informing Honrade of a remittance of P3.0914 million as payment for the land. The letter, dated March 8, 2006, bears the letterhead of the House of Representatives.

As regards the executive housing, Madrigal said she wants to know the names of the MWSS executives and employees and all other persons who own the houses and their financial capabilities. She also asked Honrade for a list of employees and retirees who have acquired lots in the 58-hectare housing project.

The existing executive housing and the proposed housing are located above the 700-hectare reservoir, with the former less than a kilometer away.

"I want to know if the original beneficiaries still own the lots, considering that the Supreme Court decision confirming their ownership was issued in 1975," Madrigal said. "And why should a contractor named Ramon Alberto Nollido pay the MWSS and why should he course the payment through Lagman?"

She maintained that the 1999 Environment Compliance Certificate was issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources without public consultation.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39185

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter and MARK IVAN ROBLAS, The Manila Times Researcher

Not 54 but 120 houses are being built for executives of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System on a 3.3-hectare site in the La Mesa Watershed.

Dexter Santillan, MWSS deputy administrator for administration and support services, said Thursday there are more houses in the executive village than what top officials of the water agency have led the public to believe. He denied, however, that the housing project is exclusive to the water agency’s top officials.

"It is not only for top executives," he explained. "Other employees, including the rank and file, if they have the right amount of money can build their houses here," he told reporters during the inspection of the site.

Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal, a member of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee and Oversight Committee on Clean Water, led the inspection party. The two committees are conducting an investigation to determine the legality of the executive housing and 58-hectare housing for rank-and-file employees in the watershed.

Madrigal believes influential persons other than the MWSS executives and employees own houses in the executive housing project. She asked MWSS Administrator Orlando Honrade, who gave the party a drive-through tour of the site, to provide her with a complete list of people who own the houses.

Madrigal told reporters she will invite Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay to appear in the Senate hearing.

Lagman’s role in the controversy

"I think Representative Lagman should explain his role in the controversy over the proposed 58-hectare housing site," she said. "Are the employees the real beneficiaries? In what capacity did Lagman receive these titles? How come the price paid is only P5.50 per square meter, the value in 1968, when the deed of sale was executed in 2006?"

Madrigal showed a copy of a letter from Lagman informing Honrade of a remittance of P3.0914 million as payment for the land. The letter, dated March 8, 2006, bears the letterhead of the House of Representatives.

As regards the executive housing, Madrigal said she wants to know the names of the MWSS executives and employees and all other persons who own the houses and their financial capabilities. She also asked Honrade for a list of employees and retirees who have acquired lots in the 58-hectare housing project.

The existing executive housing and the proposed housing are located above the 700-hectare reservoir, with the former less than a kilometer away.

"I want to know if the original beneficiaries still own the lots, considering that the Supreme Court decision confirming their ownership was issued in 1975," Madrigal said. "And why should a contractor named Ramon Alberto Nollido pay the MWSS and why should he course the payment through Lagman?"

She maintained that the 1999 Environment Compliance Certificate was issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources without public consultation.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39185

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter

Officials and employees of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System who own luxurious houses in the executive village in the La Mesa watershed are facing a lifestyle check.

Sen. Jamby Madrigal, a member of the committee looking into the propriety and legality of two housing projects in the watershed, said she would insist that the owners explain how they managed to build the houses she saw at the site.

In any case, she said, no development, including housing, should be introduced anywhere within the 2,700-hectare La Mesa Watershed.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano, had called for an investigation after the Save La Mesa coalition objected to an MWSS plan to build houses for its 1,411 rank-and-file employees in a 58-hectare site within the watershed.

The probe, cochaired by Rep. Nereus Acorta of Bukidnon, started last Tuesday.

The coalition argued that no houses should be allowed anywhere within the watershed. The existence of the houses, it said, could contaminate the reservoir, the source of drinking water for 12 million Metro Manila residents.

Above the reservoir

In turned out that while the issue was being debated, the MWSS top officials had been building houses for themselves, at a site above the reservoir and within less than a kilometer radius from it.

The housing project proposed for ordinary employees is two kilometers away.

The executive housing, covering 3.3 hectares, has 120 residential units, either completed or nearing completion.

At the committee’s hearing last Tuesday, MWSS Administrator Orlando Honrade revealed a plan to pipe wastewater of the proposed housing project, including water from its sewage deposit, into the reservoir. He assured Cayetano, however, that a P46-million water-treatment plant would be set up to cleanse the water before it is released into the reservoir.

He defended the plan by saying that the housing project is above the reservoir, anyway.

The wastewater from the executive village, which is to be expanded by another 1.4 hectares, will drain into the Tullahan River.

Limited floor area

Available lots in the existing and proposed housing projects are 140, 240 or 300 square meters. Regardless of the size of lot bought, however, ordinary employees can build houses only with a floor area of 36 to 44 square meters.

No limit has been set for executives. Honrade said he himself had expanded the floor area of his house from 30 to 60 square meters. He declined to reveal how he spent for it.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39268

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter

Officials and employees of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System who own luxurious houses in the executive village in the La Mesa watershed are facing a lifestyle check.

Sen. Jamby Madrigal, a member of the committee looking into the propriety and legality of two housing projects in the watershed, said she would insist that the owners explain how they managed to build the houses she saw at the site.

In any case, she said, no development, including housing, should be introduced anywhere within the 2,700-hectare La Mesa Watershed.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano, had called for an investigation after the Save La Mesa coalition objected to an MWSS plan to build houses for its 1,411 rank-and-file employees in a 58-hectare site within the watershed.

The probe, cochaired by Rep. Nereus Acorta of Bukidnon, started last Tuesday.

The coalition argued that no houses should be allowed anywhere within the watershed. The existence of the houses, it said, could contaminate the reservoir, the source of drinking water for 12 million Metro Manila residents.

Above the reservoir

In turned out that while the issue was being debated, the MWSS top officials had been building houses for themselves, at a site above the reservoir and within less than a kilometer radius from it.

The housing project proposed for ordinary employees is two kilometers away.

The executive housing, covering 3.3 hectares, has 120 residential units, either completed or nearing completion.

At the committee’s hearing last Tuesday, MWSS Administrator Orlando Honrade revealed a plan to pipe wastewater of the proposed housing project, including water from its sewage deposit, into the reservoir. He assured Cayetano, however, that a P46-million water-treatment plant would be set up to cleanse the water before it is released into the reservoir.

He defended the plan by saying that the housing project is above the reservoir, anyway.

The wastewater from the executive village, which is to be expanded by another 1.4 hectares, will drain into the Tullahan River.

Limited floor area

Available lots in the existing and proposed housing projects are 140, 240 or 300 square meters. Regardless of the size of lot bought, however, ordinary employees can build houses only with a floor area of 36 to 44 square meters.

No limit has been set for executives. Honrade said he himself had expanded the floor area of his house from 30 to 60 square meters. He declined to reveal how he spent for it.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39268

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter

Officials and employees of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System who own luxurious houses in the executive village in the La Mesa watershed are facing a lifestyle check.

Sen. Jamby Madrigal, a member of the committee looking into the propriety and legality of two housing projects in the watershed, said she would insist that the owners explain how they managed to build the houses she saw at the site.

In any case, she said, no development, including housing, should be introduced anywhere within the 2,700-hectare La Mesa Watershed.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano, had called for an investigation after the Save La Mesa coalition objected to an MWSS plan to build houses for its 1,411 rank-and-file employees in a 58-hectare site within the watershed.

The probe, cochaired by Rep. Nereus Acorta of Bukidnon, started last Tuesday.

The coalition argued that no houses should be allowed anywhere within the watershed. The existence of the houses, it said, could contaminate the reservoir, the source of drinking water for 12 million Metro Manila residents.

Above the reservoir

In turned out that while the issue was being debated, the MWSS top officials had been building houses for themselves, at a site above the reservoir and within less than a kilometer radius from it.

The housing project proposed for ordinary employees is two kilometers away.

The executive housing, covering 3.3 hectares, has 120 residential units, either completed or nearing completion.

At the committee’s hearing last Tuesday, MWSS Administrator Orlando Honrade revealed a plan to pipe wastewater of the proposed housing project, including water from its sewage deposit, into the reservoir. He assured Cayetano, however, that a P46-million water-treatment plant would be set up to cleanse the water before it is released into the reservoir.

He defended the plan by saying that the housing project is above the reservoir, anyway.

The wastewater from the executive village, which is to be expanded by another 1.4 hectares, will drain into the Tullahan River.

Limited floor area

Available lots in the existing and proposed housing projects are 140, 240 or 300 square meters. Regardless of the size of lot bought, however, ordinary employees can build houses only with a floor area of 36 to 44 square meters.

No limit has been set for executives. Honrade said he himself had expanded the floor area of his house from 30 to 60 square meters. He declined to reveal how he spent for it.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39268

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter and MARK IVAN ROBLAS, The Manila Times Researcher

Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal fears wholesale destruction of the La Mesa forest cover if the proposed housing project for MWSS rank-and-file employees is allowed to proceed.

At least 5,000 trees would be cut, Madrigal warned, to accommodate some 1,411 houses of active and retired employees on a 58-hectare site within the watershed. The site, she added, is part of the successful reforestation project that has been going on for the past 15 years.

Madrigal is a member of the joint congressional commission hearing the proposed and existing housing projects. The commission is also investigating the MWSS for selling the 58-hectare portion of the 2,700-hectare La Mesa Dam watershed and reservoir at P3 million, its price 30 years ago.

The senator said the transaction is disadvantageous to the government; that is why she is asking the MWSS to rescind the contract.

Dangerous and destructive

"The housing project will endanger the La Mesa Dam and reservoir, which supplies potable water to four million Metro Manila residents, besides destroying the flora and fauna," Madrigal said.

The housing project for executives, Madrigal said, has set a dangerous precedent. It should be removed, she added, or more developments would follow.

Since 1991 Bantay Kalikasan has been rehabilitating denuded parts of the watershed. Of the 1,500 hectares that need to be reforested, 1,300 have been planted to 74 tree species like molave, narra, kamagong, dau and ipil.

Valeno Mendoza, watershed management specialist of Bantay Kalikasan, said it is very difficult to set up a forest stand and, at P60,000 per hectare, very costly.

"La Mesa is a paradise, having a high biodiversity," he said. "We are destroying our watershed, including La Mesa, while other countries are trying their best to protect theirs."

Internal conflict plagues the Save the La Mesa Dam, with a member accusing the top leadership of inconsistency in its stand on the construction of houses in the watershed.

Ambivalent

Mar Canonigo of the Sinag ng Bayan Foundation said he could not understand why Gina Lopez, president of Bantay Kalikasan, is so vocal against the proposed housing project for the rank and file but is quiet over the executive village, which is now nearing completion.

Any housing project, Canonigo said, whether for ordinary employees or for executives, poses the risk of contaminating the MWSS reservoir. The coalition, led by Bantay Kalikasan, should object just as vigorously to the luxurious houses being built on a 3.3-hectare site above the reservoir and less than a kilometer away from it.

Until Sinag ng Bayan broke the news, nobody had known about the 120 houses for top MWSS executives now at varying stages of completion.

According to Canonigo, Bantay Kalikasan had been excluding his group since it took a stand against the executive houses. He suspects the executives are wielding some influence within the coalition.

The noise generated from the controversy over the rank-and-file housing is meant only to divert the attention of the public from the executive housing, Canonigo said.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39747

[Animo]

By RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter and MARK IVAN ROBLAS, The Manila Times Researcher

Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal fears wholesale destruction of the La Mesa forest cover if the proposed housing project for MWSS rank-and-file employees is allowed to proceed.

At least 5,000 trees would be cut, Madrigal warned, to accommodate some 1,411 houses of active and retired employees on a 58-hectare site within the watershed. The site, she added, is part of the successful reforestation project that has been going on for the past 15 years.

Madrigal is a member of the joint congressional commission hearing the proposed and existing housing projects. The commission is also investigating the MWSS for selling the 58-hectare portion of the 2,700-hectare La Mesa Dam watershed and reservoir at P3 million, its price 30 years ago.

The senator said the transaction is disadvantageous to the government; that is why she is asking the MWSS to rescind the contract.

Dangerous and destructive

"The housing project will endanger the La Mesa Dam and reservoir, which supplies potable water to four million Metro Manila residents, besides destroying the flora and fauna," Madrigal said.

The housing project for executives, Madrigal said, has set a dangerous precedent. It should be removed, she added, or more developments would follow.

Since 1991 Bantay Kalikasan has been rehabilitating denuded parts of the watershed. Of the 1,500 hectares that need to be reforested, 1,300 have been planted to 74 tree species like molave, narra, kamagong, dau and ipil.

Valeno Mendoza, watershed management specialist of Bantay Kalikasan, said it is very difficult to set up a forest stand and, at P60,000 per hectare, very costly.

"La Mesa is a paradise, having a high biodiversity," he said. "We are destroying our watershed, including La Mesa, while other countries are trying their best to protect theirs."

Internal conflict plagues the Save the La Mesa Dam, with a member accusing the top leadership of inconsistency in its stand on the construction of houses in the watershed.

Ambivalent

Mar Canonigo of the Sinag ng Bayan Foundation said he could not understand why Gina Lopez, president of Bantay Kalikasan, is so vocal against the proposed housing project for the rank and file but is quiet over the executive village, which is now nearing completion.

Any housing project, Canonigo said, whether for ordinary employees or for executives, poses the risk of contaminating the MWSS reservoir. The coalition, led by Bantay Kalikasan, should object just as vigorously to the luxurious houses being built on a 3.3-hectare site above the reservoir and less than a kilometer away from it.

Until Sinag ng Bayan broke the news, nobody had known about the 120 houses for top MWSS executives now at varying stages of completion.

According to Canonigo, Bantay Kalikasan had been excluding his group since it took a stand against the executive houses. He suspects the executives are wielding some influence within the coalition.

The noise generated from the controversy over the rank-and-file housing is meant only to divert the attention of the public from the executive housing, Canonigo said.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39747