NORDIS WEEKLY
November 28, 2004

 

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Sale, privatization of water sources reported in 1st NL summit

BAGUIO CITY (Nov. 25) — Like land, water nurtures life. And like land, the right to water is threatened by prevailing systems of access, distribution and management, including commodification.

In the First Water for the People Northern Luzon Convention held this week in La Trinidad, Benguet, initial reports on water situations in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions reveal water scarcity is due mainly to inequity in access. Neo-liberal policies of privatization and liberalization also increase water scarcity. Local water issues were discussed and paralleled with prevailing global and national policies by Arnold Padilla of the IBON Foundation.

In the summit, participants from Ilocos, Cordillera and Cagayan Valley regions drafted alternatives to these impending threats to public access to water.

The Filipino People’s Code, drafted during the Water for the People National Convention last August was also adapted in the local summit. The Code presents an alternative paradigm to corporate-led use and management of water services. It also enumerates guiding principles for implementing pro-people policies and programs on water services, infrastructure and water resource utilization.

Running dry

The input on water pollution by Engr. Basil Munar of the Department of Health (DOH)-Cordillera revealed that out of 421 rivers in the country, 50 are polluted and 40 are biologically dead. Causes are attributed to point (domestic, industrial and commercial waste) and non-point sources (pollutants due to environmental changes).

Reports by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) and Solidarity of Peasants Against Exploitation (STOP Exploitation)-Ilocos showed that despite headwaters and rich coastal waters in these regions, there is water scarcity.

Watershed denudation, pollution and siltation of surface water sources, inefficient water supply facilities and infrastructure, privatization of water utilities and sources, and the threats posed to water sources by corporate mining and hydropower development plans are the issues needing action in the Cordillera, the CPA said.

Similar issues affect Ilocos region water sources, including lack of access to potable water in coastal communities, and floods and erosion. In its report, STOP Exploitation relayed that prohibitive rates for irrigation service, and the privatization of marine areas due to the Fisheries Code and several municipal ordinances add to the issues affecting water sources in this region.

Cordillera

Cordillera headwaters supply most water sources in northern and central Luzon, including the National Power Corporation’s (NPC) northern Luzon power grid. Water consumption here is confined mainly to agricultural and domestic use. Water sources, however, are not readily available due to physical conditions of water resources and ultimately, social conditions that affect water appropriation, use, and access.

In tribal communities, community resource management is generally practiced. Yet, an increasing pressure for greater food production and cash-income generation is gradually affecting consensus to maintain watersheds, the CPA said. The tayan in northern Kankanaey communities are now being converted into orchards. In Hungduan and Banaue, Ifugao, the muyung are all that are left of community-managed watersheds.

Difficulty in watershed management has affected wet-rice production, reducing the cropping season to once a year, which was originally biannual. In rice-producing provinces, National Irrigation Authority (NIA) services are poorly managed, such as in Tabuk and Pinukpuk in Kalinga. Church efforts to develop and manage irrigation systems in Lower Abra have been initiated. Failure of the NIA to deliver services is “due mainly to the marginal position it occupies in the national budget”, the CPA said.

In specific areas, water scarcity has become the source of tribal conflict, such as the Pidlisan-Dallic tribes and Sadanga-Saclit tribes both in Mt. Province.

Deep sourcing in peasant and tribal communities offers a potent water source, says CPA. Minimal exploration however is given to this option. During the summit, the story of Lakay Kaggun Himmiwat of Bokiawan, Ifugao was shared. Lakay Kaggun, who attended the convention, patiently sourced out water from rocks along mountain slopes to irrigate ricepaddies.

“Idi damo ket katkatawaan dagiti umili isuna, but later on he became the water hero of Bokiawan”, recalls Lulu Gimenez of APIT TAKO (Alyansa dagiti Pesante iti Taeng Kordilyera) during the report. APIT TAKO is a member organization of the CPA.

Mine tailings continue to pollute surface water sources, such as the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company’s (LCMCo) tailings which flow into the Abra River. Major rivers in northern Luzon are also in the same state.

The lack of potable water supply in Baguio City has led to the entry of bulk water supply projects, such as that of the Benguet Corporation (BC).

Ilocos region sit

Scarcity of potable water supply in coastal communities in La Union has prompted residents to pay P2 for every 4-gallon container from private water entities. A separate transportation cost is also charged.

Meanwhile, privatization looms in areas where water facilities are present. The Metro La Union Water District (MLUWD), which supplies five towns was privatized through World Bank. Employees now fear retrenchment as the court case is in a deadlock.

Most capital towns in the region have no water treatment facilities. Improper waste disposal aggravate surface and ground water pollution, STOP Exploitation said in its preliminary report.

Farmers using the MASALIP Irrigation System are charged two cavans of palay for every hectare during the dry season and three cavans during the rainy season. In Ilocos Sur, the NIA charges P800 for every hectare.

Continuing research is ongoing for the water situations in both Ilocos and Cordillera regions.

Water for the people

Highlights of the declaration drafted by 130 representatives of communities, people’s and non-government organizations, the academe, church, government officials and employees include calls to stop privatization and commodification of water resources, re-prioritize the national budget, and ensure adequate and safe supply of water for the people.

The two-day convention was organized by the CPA, ÁPIT TAKÓ, Save the Abra River Movement (STARM), STOP Exploitation – Ilocos, and the IBON Foundation, Inc.

Workshops on urban water pollution, water and mining, privatization of water utilities and resources, agriculture and fisheries, hydropower infrastructure, and water and disaster were also undertaken. # ATB for NORDIS


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