House panels adopt bill creating Department of Water

Two House panels on Tuesday jointly adopted the proposal of outgoing Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo creating a Department of Water amid the new round of water service interruptions hounding several parts of Metro Manila and nearby areas.

In their meeting, the House Committees on Public Works and Highways and Natural Resources adopted House Bill 8068 which seeks the creation of the Department of Water, Irrigation, Sewage and Sanitation Resource Management.

House joint panels hold oversight meeting to discuss looming water supply shortage. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/AMsMsUgtba

— Erwin Colcol (@erwincolcol) June 25, 2019

The measure primarily aims to strengthen and coordinate water resource planning and policy-making to make the allocation and use of water resources sustainable and fair.

Bulacan Representative Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, who presided over the meeting, stressed the importance of putting up a Department of Water which will manage the water resources in the country.

"The chairman welcomes the proposal earlier na magkaroon tayo ng Department of Water. Yan ay talagang long overdue na kailangan na kailangan ng bansang Pilipinas kasi nakikita naman natin yung mismanagement ng tubig," he said.

Sy-Alvarado also decried the practice of releasing excess water on dams when they are overflowing.

"Kapag tag-ulan, kung kailan maraming tubig, nagpapakawala tayo ng tubig, pinapakawalan sa dagat yung tubig na yaman ng Pilipinas na dapat ay kinakalong natin sa panahon na wala tayong tubig," he said.

"Ito dapat yung pinapagamit natin sa mamamayan at magsasaka. Pero sa panahon naman na paggamit ng tubig, wala tayong maibigay na tubig," he added.

Several parts of Metro Manila and Rizal province were hit by a water crisis beginning March this year, which Manila Water, the provider of water to the east concession zone of the area, attributed to the low water supply in the La Mesa Reserve.

Last month, Manila Water President and CEO Ferdinand dela Cruz reported that while there was still a deficit situation, their water service delivery has improved after they were able to activate the Cardona Water Treatment Plant and harvested supplies from deepwells.

However come June, the water level in Angat Dam has gone below critical level, which resulted in another round of water service interruptions.

Sy-Alvarado suggested the creation of more dams in the surrounding areas of Metro Manila to supplement the water reserves in Angat Dam.

"Kailangan natin na magdagdag ng marami pang dams, hindi lang siguro sa lugar ng Quezon, pati sa lugar ng Pampanga at Nueva Ecija, kailangan natin ng mga water embankment at dams. At kung makapagdadagdag pa tayo sa Bulacan, dagdagan natin para yung capacity ng Angat ay madagdagan natin," he said.

"Pero kahit dagdag tayo nang dagdag, kailangan pa rin natin ng iisang sistema kung saan lahat tayo ay nagkakaisa at nakakapagtulungan," he added.

Local Water Utilities Administration chief Jeci Lapus has also proposed the creation of a Department of Water as a long-term solution to the water crisis in Metro Manila.

In the meantime, Lapus suggested that surrounding water districts could assist Metro Manila in providing water to consumers in the metropolis.

Considering that the 17th Congress is about to close, Arroyo, at the beginning of the hearing, asked the committee to endorse the measure creating the Department of Water to the next Congress should they approve it.

"If our committee members will agree to come up with a committee report, they can endorse the creation of the Department of Water to this example of a crisis," she said. — RSJ, GMA News