A GROUP of nuns is calling for the protection of the Tamugan watershed amid the controversies surrounding the said area.

In a unity statement read before the Davao City Council on Tuesday, Sr. Gladys Laurente, OSB, of the Association of the Consecrated Women of Davao, said their group is opposing the planned hydropower project of Hedcor-Aboitiz in the Tamugan-Panigan watershed as "this poses overwhelming threats to the environment and its biodiversity as well as to the people's rights to access the gifts and bounty of creation."

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The group called on Hedcor to stop its planned project in the watershed and asked the local government to uphold the watershed code of the city. It also asked the Davao City Water District to maintain its status as a public water utility and continue its commitment and service for the benefit of the people of Davao City.

The nuns also called for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to cancel the environmental compliance certificate it earlier awarded to Hedcor as this is directly contradictory to the watershed code.

The nuns lastly called on the National Water Resources Board to cancel Hedcor's application for water rights in the Tamugan area. (BOT)