MANILA – The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) does not have to share proceeds from the use of Angat Dam with the Bulacan provincial government, settling a prolonged legal dispute.
According to Philippines News Agency, Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting penned the resolution for the SC en banc, which dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by Bulacan. The province initially sought a share of revenues from MWSS for using water resources from Angat Dam, a claim first supported by a Regional Trial Court and then by the Court of Appeals. The case escalated to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of MWSS and against Bulacan’s claims.
The Supreme Court’s decision centered on the interpretation of conditions under which a local government unit is entitled to a share of the revenues from national wealth. The court outlined that the entitlement depends on the resource being part of natural resources within the territory of the LGU and the revenue derived from its use. The court noted that water impounded in Angat Dam does not meet these criteria as it is extracted and thus considered artificial. “It has already been extracted from a natural source, the Angat River, by the National Power Corp. Once water is removed from its natural source, it ceases to be part of the natural resources of the country and becomes artificial and man-made in character,” stated the court.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court clarified that the National Power Corp., which operates Angat Dam for power generation, is the entity directly responsible for any revenue sharing with Bulacan, confirming that this obligation has been fulfilled.