Water supply woes in Manjuyod: Thirsty mob protests vs town's “inaction”

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — Some 100 residents of different villages and sub-villages of Manjuyod, Negros Oriental on Monday picketed at the municipal hall to protest the local government's seeming inaction to provide them with water supply.

The protesters, comprising of adult males and females and some children, carried placards that called for the swift response of the mayor to their plight which some alleged to be sort of political in nature, according to Dr. Jess Cañete, special investigator of the Commission on Human Rights in Negros Oriental.

Other placards spoke of the people's "thirst," a "backward" instead of "forward Manjuyod" (the town's slogan), and pleas for a fair and sincere public service by the new administration of Mayor Felix Sy - elected town mayor last year.

Dr. Cañete had motored to that northern town Monday morning to help ease the tension of the rallyists during about three hours of dialogue with Sy, who had accommodated his request to listen to the sentiments of his constituents.

According to Cañete, Monday's protest action is similar to that in Barangay Bolisong of Manjuyod late last year during which village residents also raised their concerns with the CHR after their water supply was disconnected immediately after the May 2013 elections.

Cañete said until today, the Bolisong issue has not yet been resolved with Mayor Sy having failed to reply to Cañete's letter and now other villages or sub-villages are also experiencing the same problem.

The areas now affected by the water supply disconnection are Bolisong, Bangcal, Malbog, Bantolinao and Botong, the CHR chief disclosed.

The complaints varied, from water supply disconnections to no new connections, he said.

During the dialogue, Cañete said he learned that the purported reason behind the problem was the shutting down of the water tank situated on a private lot.

Cañete, who was unable to get the names of the private individuals who owned the lot, disclosed that these people had allegedly cut off the water supply from its main source and "demanded" that six of their family members be employed by the local government unit.

The CHR office, who expressed frustration over the problem considering that water is a basic necessity that government is mandated to provide to the people, urged the mayor to take a more concrete step to ensure that the constituents are not disenfranchised.

While the mayor announced that the six private individuals would be given jobs immediately, either on Monday or Tuesday, still, Cañete stressed this is just a temporary solution to the problem.

The local government must not be "held hostage" to this kind of demand, otherwise the problem will persist, Cañete added. At present, residents in the affected areas are fetching water from other sources, he disclosed. /JMD (FREEMAN)