House panel OKs fund outlay for proposed dep't of water resources

The House Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday approved the funding provisions for the measure seeking to establish a Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the Water Regulatory Commission.

During its meeting, the panel approved the sections of the measure providing the budgetary requirements for the creation of the DWR, one of the priority bills of the Duterte administration.

The DWR is envisioned to be the primary national government agency responsible for the comprehensive and integrated planning, policy formulation, management and ownership, utilization, exploitation, development, and protection of water resources of the country.

"The legislative intent of the creation of the Department of Water Resources is to ensure safe, adequate and continuous water supply for our people and ensure good governance and effective regulation of the water service," said Batangas Representative Marvey Mariño, who sponsored the measure.

"[It will] approximate a balance between consumer satisfaction and reasonable return on investment on the part of the water service providers and ensure sound and efficient management of the sector by establishing a national framework of water resource management," he added.

According to Mariño, the proposed budget for the DWR is P2 billion, for which the current year's appropriation of the following agencies will be subsumed:

• National Water Resource Board,
• River Basin Control Office,
• Water Supply Sanitation Unit of the DILG,
• Water Quality Management Section of the EMB,

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• Bureau of Soils and Water Management of the DA, and
• Manila Bay Coordinating Office.

If enacted into law, agencies that will be attached to the DWR include:

• Local Water Utilities Administration
• Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System
• National Irrigation Administration
• Laguna Lake Development Authority

Meanwhile, Mariño said the proposed budget for the Water Regulatory Commission, which will also be an attached agency of the DWR, is P300 million.

The proposed department is one of the three agencies whose creation is a priority of the House of Representatives -- the other two being the Department of Disaster Resilience, and the Department of Filipino Overseas. —LBG, GMA News