DAVAO City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte warned those who have built structures in watershed areas to self-demolish or face consequences.
“I would like to address the public those who have but structures in the protected areas I would suggest that you should self-demolish because I will be coming after you,” Duterte said in the Sept. 7 episode of Basta Dabawenyo.
He said that water is a very precious resource and it is supposed to be for everybody.
He said that the city government seeks to preserve nature and areas responsible for the clean and potable water for Dabawenyos.
“I suggest you self-demolish because I would not want problems on your end, we have to do our job in the government to protect the precious natural resource which is water so this is my warning to all of you, if you will not follow then the government will do its job whether you like it or not,” the mayor said.
He said that this matter is not subject to settlement.
“This cannot be a subject of settlement because when you built your structures you only thought of yourself and not the welfare of Dabawenyos. You have done a very selfish act but I am giving you a chance to self-demolish,” he said.
He said he cannot allow the building of structures that compromise the water supply in Davao.
“I hope you will do your part as responsible citizens of the city, you should self-demolish, I am sorry to tell you but this is how it will go. This is the direction that this LGU is going to take,” the mayor said.
The Watershed Management Council (WMC) is doing its part in educating the communities about the importance of watersheds.
In its information education drives, the WMC gathers barangay functionaries and tribal leaders and educates them about the importance of watersheds and the risk of not taking care of them, the dos and donts in critical watershed areas, and also the allowable uses of the current zones in the barangay.
Resource speakers in each IEC activity include the WMC Technical Working Group, the City Planning and Development Office, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Editor’s Note: This article has been sourced from the Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte Facebook Page.
