According to an article in a Davao newspaper, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and other city officials, have given up in mediating the Tamugan river use row between the Davao City Water District (DCWD) and Aboitiz Group’s Hedcor subsidiary as both parties cannot agree to share the river. They are now asking the courts to settle the issue between both parties.
Hedcor was open to making changes to their hydro power plant designs so as to accommodate DCWD’s use of the river as a water supply but DCWD didn’t find their plans acceptable.
According to Davao City, Councilor, Peter Lavina, the DCWD was granted rights to use the Tamugan river in 1997 but failed to push through with their project, only now when Hedcor signified their intent to tap into the river in order to build a power plant to avert a looming energy crisis in the island did they show interest in pursing their water project.
Category: HydroHad the DCWD acted ten years ago to tap the river, we would not be confronted with this time-wasting debate today. The board and management of the water firm should be accountable for this clear failure to act accordingly to develop the river as its water source. [source]
