BACOLOD City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) passed a resolution requesting the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), City Legal Office (CLO), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and City Engineer’s Office (CEO) to look into the alleged illegal construction of a port at the mouth of Sum-ag River in Barangay Sum-ag.
The SP also asked the said agencies and offices to report to them their findings within 15 days from receipt of the resolution, which was passed during the SP’s regular session last week.
Councilor Thaddeus Sayson proposed the resolution. The alleged port construction is impeding the free flow of water and constricts the river, he stressed.
“There is therefore a need for the DENR, CLO, DPWH, and CEO to look into this to determine appropriate action,” Sayson added.
The Sum-ag River is the only navigable river in the city.
Sayson said Section 458 of Republic Act No. 7160, known as the Local Government Code of 1991, provides that the SP is empowered to protect the environment and impose appropriate penalties for acts which endanger the environment, and such other activities which results in pollution or of ecological imbalance.
The councilor added that Section 91 (B) of Presidential Decree 1067, or the Water Code of the Philippines, penalizes any person who commits unauthorized obstruction of a river or waterway, or occupancy of a river bank or seashore without permission./PN
