MWSS to wait for DENR permit on La Mesa housing

The administrator of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) yesterday gave assurances that no construction will be undertaken at the La Mesa water reservoir until required permits from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are secured.

"I will assure you that we will do everything we can to prevent and avoid the contamination of the La Mesa waters in the construction of the housing project near the water reserve," MWSS Administrator Orlando Hondrade told The Star.

He said the project proponents should primarily secure environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) from the DENR before the MWSS housing project can be constructed at the La Mesa Dam area.

Other conditions set for the construction of the project include the establishment of facilities and the use of technology to ensure that the water reserve will not be contaminated and the forest would be preserved.

Hondrade said that these facilities could amount to at least P100 million.

Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes, however, said that no application for a permit has been filed in the agency in connection with the MWSS housing project.

He also gave assurances that the DENR will conduct a thorough study on the matter and if warranted, would file an appeal before the Supreme Court (SC).

"I’ll have our people look into the environment implications of this (housing project) and make our position known," Reyes said. "Definitely, the matter of the environment is non-negotiable."

The SC has earlier ruled that the housing project should be allowed to proceed near the La Mesa water reservoir. This is now being used by the project proponents to press for its construction.

But Reyes warned that if the housing project is unsafe, it will inevitably affect the water table. "If the project will pollute the water and prejudice the interest of the people of Metro Manila over the long term then we have to take appropriate legal remedies," he said.

The DENR chief conceded though that the high court’s decision should be taken into consideration. "We can’t just set aside the SC. But we have to consult with our lawyers about it... We have to ascertain the environmental impact of the project over the long term," he explained.

The proposed housing project is part of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the MWSS and two of its labor unions — the Kaisahan at Kapatiran ng mga Manggagawa at Kawani sa NWSA (KKMK-NWSA) and Balara Employees and Laborers Association (BELA) — in 1968.

Under the agreement, the MWSS will allot 58 hectares of its property near the La Mesa watershed to be sold to the unions at P5.50 per square meter, with total value of P3.19 million. The property was raffled off and awarded to 1,411 union members. Eventually, a new site located within the perimeter of La Mesa Watershed was designated for the project.

The deal was, however, only consummated with the turnover of the absolute deed of sale to the claimants last March.

This prompted environmentalists and cause-oriented groups to revive opposition to the planned establishment of a housing project in the La Mesa Dam compound, insisting that the project poses danger to the reliability of the water supply in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. — Katherine Adraneda, Delon Porcalla