Ormoc city government shutdowns LMC

By RONNIE C. ROA
February 29, 2012

ORMOC CITY  –  The city government of Ormoc has finally fed up when the mayor personally handed the cease and desist order to the LIDE Management Corporation yesterday, past 4 in the afternoon, February 28 at their water pumping station in Brgy. Salvacion, this city.

Ormoc City Mayor Eric C. Codilla together with his Vice-mayor Nepomuceno P. Aparis I and some members of the 12th Sangguniang Panlungsod handed over and read the order.

The Leyte Industrial and Development State-LIDE Management Corporation supplies water to PhilPhos-Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corp and PASAR-Philippine Associated Smelting & Refining Corp located in Isabel Leyte.  It also supplies to Merida and Isabel towns and 8 villages in Ormoc.  LMC’s water source is located in the villages of Sto. Niño and Salvacion of Ormoc City with 8 pumping machines with an average of 20,000 cubic meters of water extracted daily.

The cease and desist order was addressed to Eddie G. Agustin the General Manager of LMC. Mayor Codilla directed the LMC to immediately and completely cease and desist from doing, performing, or continuing, in whole or in part any of the following acts: (1) extracting of water from all sub-surface sources within and forming part of the city of Ormoc and its barangays, specifically Brgy Sto. Niño and Brgy. Salvacion; (2) the operation of water pumps and related machinery utilized in water extraction from all sub-surface sources within and forming part of Ormoc and its barangays; (3) the operation of any and all machineries and implements used or devoted, whether partly or wholly, to raise, pump, transfer, transmit, compress, or by any other similar means deliver water extracted from all sub-surface sources within and forming part of the city of Ormoc and its barangays; (4) all other such acts analogous and complementary to the foregoing acts.

The order was due to the continued failure and refusal of LMC to comply, despite lawful and final notice and demand with clear and mandatory provisions of city ordinance number 49 entitled “An ordinance imposing regulatory fee on the extraction of water for sustainability and requiring the concerned establishment to set up environmental guarantee fund” specifically section IV, subsection 1, paragraphs B, C and E and section IV, subsection 2 and 3.

The order is lawfully issued and enforced pursuant to the powers granted and duties imposed upon the mayor in Republic Act no. 7160. LMC was given 24 hours to voluntarily and comply and submit formal written and verifiable evidence and undertaking of such compliance.

The city government of Ormoc has been asking their tax amounting to 80,000,000 pesos in 4 four years. There were apprehensions of the city government that because of this water extraction might cause soil subsidence, salt water intrusion and sinkhole that happened in other places. Mayor Codilla said that these catastrophe possibilities could happen because of the climate change and he does not want to be blamed. So he must act now, he said.  Mayor Codilla said what he did is not to give discomfort but to protect the environment. There is already an ordinance and it need to be implemented though it risks my personality but it has to be done for the benefit of the Ormocanons.

LMC area operation in-charge Mardenio T. Tapang received the order while Nilo Comaling said that they already shutdown their pumps at 3PM before Mayor Codilla arrived and handed the order.  LMC manager Agustin is in Manila and was not able to get his comment.