SENATOR Grace Poe on Tuesday stressed the need for a “Department of Water Resources” to address the Philippines’ problem with water supply and management.
Leading the Committee on Public Services’ hearing on bills creating the said department, Poe lamented the government’s fragmented policies and regulation of the country’s water resources, with over 30 agencies currently handling water-related functions.
She said that despite the abundance of water resources in the country, 40 million Filipinos still lack the access to potable water and sanitation services, while 11 million families still tap from unsafe water sources. She also cited problems in water supply brought about by El Niño and climate change.
“The problem is not that we don’t have resources, but that we do not effectively manage our resources,” Poe said. “We shall create a Department of Water Resources that reflects the obligation to sustainably utilize our resources, the needs of our population and our collective goal to ensure water security for all,” she vowed.
Poe says the root of water crisis in the Philippines is not the lack of resources but a lack of regulation and effective management.
“We have abundant water sources: 421 river basins; 59 natural lakes; 100,000 hectares of freshwater swamps; 50,000 square kilometers of groundwater reservoir; and 2,400 millimeters of average rainfall throughout the year,” Poe said as she presided over the Committee on Public Services hearing Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
“Through this, because of all our problems, we shall create a Department of Water Resources that reflects the obligation to sustainably utilize our resources, the needs of our growing population, and our collective goal to ensure water security for all,” she added.
According to Poe, as of today, 131 cities and municipalities from Ilocos Norte down to Cotabato have suffered immense water shortage and declared a state of calamity, and based on the Office of Civil Defense (ODC) data, P4 billion damage to agriculture was recorded due to drought.
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