A DAVAO City-based environmental group is calling for the reactivation of Barangay Watershed Management Councils (BWMCs) to strengthen the protection of the city’s critical watersheds.
Lemuel Manalo, program coordinator for Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis), urged barangays—especially those with watershed areas—to prioritize environmental conservation by establishing BWMCs.
Currently, only a few barangays have active BWMCs. To address this, Idis is lobbying the Davao City Watershed Management Council (WMC) to mandate their formation. Manalo stressed that barangays play a crucial role in monitoring developments in their areas, particularly in environmentally critical zones.
Not all 182 barangays in Davao City need a BWMC. The focus is on barangays in Marilog, Paquibato, and Baguio Districts, where efforts are underway to reestablish the councils.
He added that barangays are responsible for monitoring individuals entering Environmentally Critical Areas (ECAs), which include forests, local conservation zones, habitats of endangered species, and watershed areas.
“The barangay has the role to check on who is accessing the place ug unsa pod ilang dala [and what they are carrying], it is all stipulated in the ordinance that was passed by the Watershed Management Council,” Manalo said during a press briefing by the Davao Peace and Security Press Corps on February 26, 2025, at the Royal Mandaya Hotel.
He said that under the city’s Watershed Code, BWMCs are essential in assisting the WMC with monitoring, working alongside deputized Bantay Bukid Volunteers.
Manalo also called on the Davao City Government and barangay LGUs to enforce environmental laws and ordinances, including conducting carrying capacity assessments for trekking activities.
To support this initiative, Idis is conducting “barangay hopping” in areas with environmentally critical zones to help reactivate BWMCs. Manalo also highlighted the need to improve the BWMC framework to facilitate the election of new council leaders. RGP
