Bontoc water woes over soon with MOA signing

By Francis B. Degay

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Water shortage of this capital town may soon be solved with the signing Sept. 23 of a memorandum of agreement between the local government and tribal folk of a barangay.

Mayor Franklin C. Odsey bare this saying the agreement was forged between barangay officials of Talubin, Marcelo Almendral, owner of properties at Ampengat and Baybay creeks, Odsey who represented the local government and provincial engineer Leonardo Leyaley of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The agreement stipulated that. Almendral and Talubin allow construction of a new intake dam at Ampengat and installation of water system exclusive for Bontoc.

It was also agreed that DPWH shall rehabilitate the existing 4-inch pipe with its source at Ampengat and connect it to sitio Ban-ay, Talubin;

The municipal government shall also hire casual workers from Talubin to maintain Ampengat and Balabag intake dams and laborers for the construction of the Ampengat intake dam shall be identified by the barangay council.

Barangay officials shall negotiate with property owners along the route of the proposed water system in case of problems that will arise; and DPWH shall construct a new reservoir at sitio Ve-ey for sitio Doddo.

Millions of pesos were earlier spent for the proposed water system for central Bontoc with its source at Bayyo. Some plastic pipes were installed but when these were about to be connected with the water source in 2007 there were vehement oppositions from the people of Bayyo.

Odsey, after he was installed as mayor in 2007, held consultations with Bayyo people with positive outcomes.

However, final negotiations and signing of MOA were derailed for unknown reasons.

As a last resort, Odsey urged several times barangay officials of Talubin to share their water source with people of central Bontoc.

On August, representatives of the provincial DPWH, municipal government including this writer and barangay officials of Talubin went for an ocular survey at Ampengat.

The source at present supplies Talubin. The water flows to the the Baybay falls which can be seen above the Bontoc-Banaue road a few meters away from Talubin.