Udenna water project in Quezon seen to imperil irrigation

MANILA, Philippines — Udenna Corp.’s Lumbo Spring Bulk Water Supply Project in Dolores, Quezon will cause water shortage and endanger the livelihood of farmers in the province, Sen. Francis Pangilinan warned yesterday.

Pangilinan, former food security chief, filed a resolution for the Senate to express support for local farmers, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), and the local governments of Dolores and Tiaong, who are all against the project by the Davao-based corporation owned by the friend and campaign donor of President Duterte, Dennis Uy.

Local farmers, along with NIA and local governments of Dolores and Tiaong, have said the project will cause water supply shortage and livelihood problems in the province.

“There is a clear threat of irrigation water shortage due to the increasing number of water users both for domestic and agricultural use. The proposed project and the continuous decrease of water discharge will jeopardize the government’s thrust toward food security and will decrease farmers’ potential income,” NIA earlier said.

Tiaong’s local government mentioned that it has received concerns from farmers that the project will negatively impact their livelihood and food production.

Advocacy group Mamamayan Para sa Kapakanan ng Kalikasan ng Bukal ng Lumbo (Mapakalikasan) supports the position of other organizations, saying the water supply project will only benefit a few sectors at the expense of people living in downstream communities.

Pangilinan, who previously chaired the Senate committee on agriculture, echoed the sentiments of the groups, particularly mentioning the dilemma that local farmers would face in case the project pushes through.

On Nov. 18, 2020, the San Pablo City Water District and Dolores Water District issued a notice of award for the development of the Lumbo Spring Bulk Water Supply Project in Dolores, Quezon to the Consortium of Udenna Water Integrated Inc., Inclam, S.A., and Optimus Engineering and Construction under a public-private partnership scheme.

The P103-million project will draw for a period of 25 years, 12 million liters of water daily from the Lumbo Spring in Dolores, Quezon, 10 million liters of which will be diverted to users in another city, San Pablo, Laguna. Only two million liters of water shall be for the use of the municipality of Dolores, Quezon.