BAUKO, Mountain Province – Former Mayor Abraham B. Akilit said that ongoing efforts to sustain the preservation and protection of Mount Kalawitan is to guarantee abundant water supply not only for the present but also for the future generations of inhabitants who will be living in upstream and downstream communities.
Interview during the regular One for the Road program aired over the Facebook page and YouTube channel of herald Express Thursday evening, he underscored that water is life that is why it is important for the present inhabitants of communities within Mount Kalawitan and other similarly situated watersheds to ensure the preservation and protection of the forest cover that will serve as source of water supply for various river systems.
He urged concerned sectors inside and outside the municipality to unite in supporting the ongoing efforts to preserve and protect the remaining forest cover of Mount Kalawitan instead of allowing the massive deforestation to continue that will be detrimental in providing adequate water supply for the increasing population in various communities hosting the watershed.
Akilit had been a staunch advocate for the preservation and protection of the Mount Data watershed, including other similarly situated forest reservations inside and outside the Cordillera that started during the early 2000 when he served as the regional irrigation manager of the Cordillera office of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA-CAR).
Earlier, concerned residents in the municipality called on various sectors, including the religious and cause-oriented groups, to initiate the filing of the petition for ‘writ of kalikasan’ before the Court of Appeals (CA) to prevent the massive deforestation of Mount Kalawitan to prevent further damages that will be inflicted to to the environment.
The Cordillera serves as the watershed cradle of Northern Luzon providing abundant water supply to four major river systems such as the Agno River, Abra River, Chico River and Magat River providing abundant water supply for domestic, irrigation, power generation, industrial and commercial uses for people living in lowland communities in the Cagayan Valley, Ilocos and Central Luzon regions.
The former mayor continued with his advocacy for the protection of the whole Mount Data watershed during his three terms as the town’s local chief executive that minimized the deforestation of the forest cover within the said mountain range.
Mount Kalawitan straddles from the towns of Bauko, Sabangan and Bontoc in Mountain province and the adjacent towns of Ifugao.
“We should not allow our children and their children’s children to suffer from the scarcity of water caused by our inability to prevent the massive deforestation of our forests. We must start aggressively implementing measures to curb the illegal conversion of our forest to commercial vegetable gardens,” Akilit stressed.
He also challenged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to forego with the technicalities in the filing of cases against those who are apprehended for violation of the pertinent provisions of Presidential Decree (PD) 705 or the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines and other related laws, rules and regulations that will send a clear message that the government really means business in preserving and protecting the environment.
He pointed out that the efforts to preserve and protect the watersheds need the active involvement of everyone and that no one has the monopoly of knowledge and skills to realize the objective of maintaining decent forest covers of the mountain ranges that will allow a better state of the environment in the future.
Akilit expressed his willingness to extend whatever appropriate technical assistance to the individuals and groups wanting to initiate the filing of the petition for the issuance of the ‘writ of kalikasan’ Concerned residents are wary of the deterioration of water supply in Upper and Lower Bauko with the ongoing rapid deterioration of forest cover caused by the conversion of forests to commercial gardens by people living in the said communities.
Akilit also called on concerned government agencies to look into the implementation of sustainable programs and projects that will provide residents with alternative sources of livelihood while they are working on their existing gardens to prevent them from further expanding their present land holdings into the forested cover that will compromise the state of the environment in the said area.
Among the barangays in the municipality that are experiencing rapid denudation of the forests include Monamon Sur and Monamon Norte that host most of the undisturbed forest cover.
When he was the mayor, Akilit was able to convince the Aboitiz-owned HEDCOR, Inc. to allocate some P1 million annually as Bauko’s share from the operation of its 14-megawatt hydro power plant in nearby Sabangan town that will be used for the fencing of the Mount Kalawitan with its tri-boundaries with the nearby towns of Benguet and Ifugao to prevent further encroachments into the undisturbed portions of the forests within the town’s jurisdiction. By Dexter A. See