By PR | 07:54 AM August 18, 2025
Governor Aris Aumentado has initiated efforts to establish the Loboc Watershed Management Council (LWMC), gathering the mayors of 15 local government units (LGUs) within the watershed for a special meeting on Thursday, August 14, at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Pre-Session Hall, New Capitol Building.
The meeting, led by the Bohol Provincial Environment Management Office (BPEMO) under Jovencia Ganub, emphasized the urgency of safeguarding the Loboc Watershed, which has long been vulnerable to flooding. To improve disaster monitoring, six Automated Weather Stations have already been installed.
Aumentado said the council will be critical in unifying the management plans of the four protected areas within the watershed and in maximizing assistance from partner agencies. He urged stakeholders to finalize and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the council by the third or fourth quarter of 2025.
“We must be serious in ensuring that all actions and plans are in line with environmental processes to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Every decision should protect—not compromise—our environment,” the governor stressed.
Forester Restituto Piollo, head of BPEMO-FRMD, presented the draft MOA for the LWMC. Once operational, the council will serve as an oversight and advisory body for watershed planning, policy formulation, resource management, law enforcement, and conflict resolution.
The council will be backed by a Watershed Management Planning Team (WMPT), tasked with drafting the Integrated Watershed Management Plan (IWMP). The DENR-PENRO will chair the body, while DENR-CENRO Tagbilaran will serve as its secretariat.
Margarito Cafe Jr., Chief of DENR-CENRO Tagbilaran’s Conservation and Development Section, discussed Administrative Order No. 2021-041, which provides the framework for creating watershed councils under Presidential Decree No. 705 or the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines. The order standardizes council creation, promotes multi-sectoral participation, and ensures funding from the DENR’s annual budget.
The meeting also featured a presentation by Gemma Boreros-Cruz of Alinea on the Partnering for Climate and Disaster Resilience (P4CDR) project, locally known as Governance for Climate Disaster Resilience (GovCDR). This six-year initiative, funded by Global Affairs Canada, supports national and local institutions in strengthening policies and programs for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
With the commitment of the provincial government, LGUs, DENR, and development partners, the Loboc Watershed is being positioned as a model for collaborative and sustainable environmental governance—aligned with Bohol’s Strategic Change Agenda on environmental protection, ridge-to-reef harmony, and climate-resilient communities.
