- Councilor to probe Panigan-Tamugan River contamination
A LAWMAKER vowed to hold liable the company responsible for the Panigan-Tamugan River spill last Oct. 20, which contaminated one of the sources of potable water for Davao City.
To note, residents were advised to refrain from bathing, washing clothes, or collecting water from the Tamugan-Panigan River due to a wastewater discharge allegedly from a piggery.
“We will conduct an investigation into the existence of the piggery in the area, which is a protected area, and why there is a discharge incident,” Councilor Temujin Ocampo said during the Disaster Radio interview on Monday.
“We will get to the bottom of this because this is a serious matter,” the committee chair on environment and natural resources added.
Ocampo said that although the contamination happened just below where the city sources its water from, it is still inside the Panigan-Tamugan watershed.
The recently passed “Panigan-Tamugan Sub-Watershed Ordinance of 2025” recognized that the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed is the main surface water source of our drinking water and the largest contributor to the City’s overall water supply.
“We need to get all the details, and we will hold the owner of the piggery liable because, based on the statement, there is a crack in their old septic tank that created the leak. However, residents said the piggery allegedly releases waste from time to time,” he stressed..
The councilor said the committee on environment and natural resources will summon the piggery owner and the barangay local government.
To note, a certain JLc Cobero posted on his Facebook page videos and photos of the said river, where the water appeared to be blackish.
In a monitoring report from Bantay Bukid obtained by TIMES, it was found that the Tamugan River (Lower Patag) and Barangay Gumalang (Sitio Lawis) have been affected by a wastewater spill, where a change in the river’s color (brownish and blackish color) and a strong, unpleasant odor from the river was observed.
In their report, Bantay Bukid pointed to a lagoon owned by Lopez Piggery in Tamugan as the alleged source of the spill.
Ocampo raised the concern over the 16th regular session on Oct. 28, where several councilors urged a prompt investigation if a cease and desist order needed to be released.
