Building on the previous interventions of the Municipality of Talisay and CCEF Project SMILE, CCEF led the Talisay River Management Stakeholders Meeting as a recap on the plans and interventions for Mananga River which was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Present during the meeting were different offices from the Municipality of Talisay including the Environment Office, City Planning, City Administrator, Solid Waste Management Office, Local Housing Office, Agricultural Office, as well as representatives from different barangays along Mananga River and NGOs (Pagtambayayong, Red Cross, Forge and CCEF).
The stakeholders meeting started with a short presentation by Roderick Auza on the past interventions in rehabilitating Bulacao River, which could be used as a basis for the next steps to follow for the Mananga River Council. After the presentation, the participants were divided into two groups with each group having representatives from the LGU, to help brainstorm on solutions to issues for Mananga River.
During the workshop, the key stakeholders identified main issues to be the lack of enforcement/implementation and the need for the biological rehabilitation of the river (problems because of illegal water extraction, need for bioremediation and to address water pollution by relocating informal settlers). As starting points, they presented the need for the reactivation of the Mananga River Task Force with the issuance of an Executive Order, as well as revisit ordinances related to Mananga. Because the problems surrounding Mananga River needs the cooperation and assistance of various stakeholders and government enforcment the key stakeholders agreed to have another meeting with a smaller group and representation for the River Council, as well as submit a report to the Talisay City Mayor and incorporate the plans to the Talisay IADP .
