Baguio files protest versus water permit application

The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved a resolution requesting the City Legal office to file a protest against the conditional water permit of EKP Spring Water Corporation.

In a resolution, city legislators stated that the filing of a timely protest against the conditional water permit will prevent the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) from giving a full-pledged water permit to the company to prevent the available sources of potable water supply for the city residents from being compromised.

Earlier, a verified protest was filed by barangay Tadiangan, Tuba, Benguet against the EKP Spring Water Corporation which is now pending before the NWRB signed by some1,001 residents in a petition letter dated March 16, 2022 addressed to the NWRB Chairman with regard to their affected area of jurisdiction.

The EKP Spring Water Corporation is a third-party service provider with office address at Bomasgao, Poblacion, Tuba, Benguet which applied for a water permit over many water sources in Tuba town, including the Irisan water source and is a recipient of a conditional water permit No. 05-19-21-059 issued by the NWRB on May 2021 which will expire on May 19, 2022.

The council claimed that the water permit applied for by the EKP Spring Water Corporation is within or covers the territorial jurisdiction of Baguio and that there was no clearance secured by the company from the city government prior to the filing of the water permit application which resulted in the issuance of the conditional water permit which is now being questioned.

The council adopted as a policy for the city government to be an automatic intervenor in water permit applications being filed by companies before the NWRB to ensure that the city can protect the various water sources from being awarded for exploitation to private companies without the consent of the city. – Dexter A. See