The local government unit (LGU) of Sevilla,
Bohol has stepped up its counter-offensives
by removing pipes and other physical
installations that supply water to Balilihan
town.
The recent turn of events was preceded with
an ongoing war between LGU Balilihan and
Richli Corporation, a private water company
that has an eye on sourcing out its business
from the abundance of Bugwak Spring in
Balilihan, Bohol.
The now hotly disputed spring shares its
border with the towns of Balilihan and Sevilla.
But the Mayor of Sevilla, Juliet Dano, an ally
of Bohol Gov. Aris Aumentado, did something
that is rather unprecedented in recent
Philippine history: an LGU official cutting
pipes and water installations in a natural
spring owned by God and bestowed to the
people of the Republic of the Philippines
depriving the people of a neighboring town of
water supply.
Dano ordered the demolition of the structures
of the controversial Bugwak Bulk Water
Project in Barangay Magsaysay on Friday.
The demolition was carried out by the
employees of the local government unit of
Sevilla, who were accompanied by the police.
The structures were demolished because they
did not have a building permit from the LGU
and it did not have permission from the
barangay, according to Dano.
Mayor Dano claimed these structures do not
have an environmental clearance certificate
(ECC) from the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR).
“We in Balilihan, being recipients of this
project, shall support whatever legal actions
DPWH and the contractor may undertake to
those involved in the dismantling of the water
intake structures, the removal of the
submersible pump, the cutting of the electrical
cables without legal basis,” reacted Balilihan
Mayor Pureza Veloso-Chatto.
“This intake structure and pump is the primary
component of the DPWH-implemented
waterworks project for Balilihan. To say that
the DPWH denied its inclusion in the program
of works is misleading. Nevertheless, we
await DPWH’s clarification of the matter,”
Mayor Chatto said.
Despite the gloomy scenario in Bohol
governance under the leadership of
Aumentado, Mayor Pureza has called for
sobriety among her constituents amid a water
dispute that has reached its maximum
magnitude.
As of this writing, Aumentado, being the father
of the Province of Bohol, has not yet issued a
public statement on the actions of LGU Sevilla
against Balilihan.
In a statement, Chatto admitted she is
disappointed that LGU Sevilla took the law
into their own hands and ordered the
dismantling of a government project that
would have provided much-needed water to
the people of Balilihan.
“It is sad that LGU Sevilla could not wait for
the Final Resolution through administrative
steps of national agencies concerned in the
regulation and project implementation,”
Chatto lamented.
“They took the law into their hands and
ordered the dismantling of a Government
project wasting so much public funds
depriving the people of Balilihan the beneficial
use of this state-owned, and state-regulated
water supply,” said Pureza Chatto, wife of
Bohol First District Rep. Edgar Migriño Chatto.
Chatto said LGU Balilihan has been following
all the necessary procedures in order to get
the water project approved.
She bared the municipality has a Conditional
Water Permit from the National Water
Resources Board (NWRB), and that it has
secured funding from the national government
through the General Appropriations Act
(GAA).
Mayor Chatto also revealed that LGU
Balilihan has been in communication with
LGU Sevilla about the water project.
Chatto said she personally called Mayor Juliet
Dano of Sevilla about the project in the early
stages of its implementation, and that she
wrote Dano a letter in May 2021 informing her
of the project.
However, Chatto said she did not receive a
response from Dano until May 2022, when
Dano wrote to her saying that she was
“pressured” by her constituents about the
ongoing water project for Balilihan.
LGU Sevilla is claiming ownership over
Bugwak Spring, the source of water for the
Balilihan water project.
However, the lady mayor of Balilihan said the
water code of the Philippines states that “all
waters belong to the state.”
She noted that an NWRB ruling in favor of
Balilihan signed by DENR, DOST, DOJ,
NEDA, and UP Hydrology clearly emphasizes
that Bugwak Spring is publicly owned and
solely regulated by the state.
Chatto wrote on FB she is hopeful that the two
LGUs can resolve the dispute through
dialogue.
However, she said LGU Balilihan is also
prepared to take legal action if necessary.
As the former Bohol first lady, Mayor Pureza
appealed for sobriety among her constituents
in Balilihan who were reportedly disgusted
with and angered by the offensives of LGU
Sevilla.
Chatto said she is confident that the two
LGUs can resolve the dispute through
dialogue and respect for the rule of law.
Police vs PNP
The demolition, escorted by Sevilla PNP, was
stopped when the chief of the Balilihan Police
Station arrived at the area. The Balilihan
Police Station is in charge of the security of
the project.
The demolition of the structures is the latest
development in the long-running controversy
surrounding the Bugwak Bulk Water Project.
The project, which is being implemented by
the Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH), is supposed to provide
water to the municipalities of Balilihan and
Sevilla. However, the project has been mired
in controversy since its inception.
In 2022, the late Barangay Captain Victorino
Barro of Barangay Magsaysay filed a case
with the Visayas Ombudsman against Mayor
Pureza Chatto, DPWH and the contractor
Achacoso because he wanted his barangay to
build the project there. The captain just died,
the case could not be resolved.
LGU Sevilla has argued the structures are
illegal and that they should be demolished.
But LGU Balilihan pointed out that the
structures are legal, and that these should not
be demolished.
In the meantime, the demolition of the
structures has left thousands of residents in
Balilihan without water.
The residents are now calling on the
provincial government of Bohol to provide
them with water.
SEVILLA SB RESOLUTION
The Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Sevilla,
Bohol has authorized Mayor Juliet B. Dano to
take any action necessary to protect the
municipality’s water source, the Magsaysay
Water Source (Bugwak Spring), in Barangay
Magsaysay.
The resolution, which was passed
unanimously on December 19, 2022, was in
response to a letter from the LGU Balilihan
informing the LGU Sevilla that it is
constructing a water supply system that will
draw water from the Bugwak Spring. The LGU
Balilihan’s water source is located in Sto.
Niño, Balilihan, Bohol.
The residents of Barangay Magsaysay
complained that the construction works were
made without proper notification.
The National Water Resources Board
(NWRB) also issued a letter stating that
Conditional Water Permit No. 01-22-0008
allows LGU Balilihan to appropriate water
from Bugwak Spring located in Sto. Niño,
Balilihan, Bohol and not from Bugwak Spring.
Magsaysay, Sevilla, Bohol.
Mayor Dano has already written a letter to
Mayor Pureza Chatto of Balilihan requesting
the latter to facilitate the removal of all
installations and structural support
constructed at Bugwak Spring at Barangay
Magsaysay, Sevilla, Bohol by JA Achacoso
Enterprises and General Services who is the
contractor awarded by the DPWH Bohol First
District Engineering Office.
The resolution authorizes Mayor Dano to take
“any action” necessary to protect the water
source, including but not limited to filing a
case with the courts, requesting the
intervention of the NWRB, or negotiating with
the LGU Balilihan.
Mayor Dano said she is committed to
protecting the water source of the municipality
and that she will take all necessary steps to
ensure that the residents of Sevilla have
access to clean and safe water.
Sevilla, Bohol Mayor Juliet Dano, in full battle regalia, and backed by armed police
officers, arrives in Bugwak Spring in Balilihan town and orders demolition of water
pipes, pumps and other installations that supply water to the people of Balilihan.
LGU officials of Balilihan have hinted of lodging an Ombudsman case, saying the
spring is owned by the Republic of the Philippines, not by Sevilla LGU. (Contributed
photo)