Courtesy: Action against hunger
ON World Water Day, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva is alarmed by the high number of Filipino families with no access to safe and clean water.
Villanueva made the remark after the National Water Resource Board (NWRB) reported that 11 million families lack access to clean water in the Philippines which accounts to 41.6% of the 26,393,906 total number of Filipino families.
“It’s such a sad reality that almost half of the total number of Filipino families do not have access to clean water due to lack of supply and sanitation,” he said.
Villanueva filed Senate Bill No. 1048 or the Safe Drinking Water Act which seeks to require water service providers to submit a water safety plan and conduct over-all examination of water quality every two months and obtain permits and certifications such as Certificate of potability of drinking water.
“It is imperative that the government takes an active role in ensuring that every Filipino has safe and potable water by having a comprehensive management program on water safety planning,” the Majority Leader said.
To ensure the preservation, management and utilization of the country’s water resources, Villanueva also filed Senate Bill No. 2013 or the “National Water Act” which seeks to establish a national framework for water resource management and the creation of the Department of Water Resources and the Water Regulatory Commission.
The creation of the Department of Water Resources is one of the priority measures of the Marcos administration mentioned during the President’s first State of the Nation Address.
“For an archipelagic country with abundant water resources, we need a sole government body which is focused on water resource management and will also strengthen the implementation of water-related laws to improve coordination among regulatory bodies,” he said.
The United Nations declared March 22 of every year since 1993 as World Water Day to raise awareness of the 2 billion people living without access to clean water.
metrosundaily
