By Bernadette D. Nicolas & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
ON the heels of the water crisis affecting some parts of Metro Manila, the government is eyeing to reconstitute the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) and place it under the Office of the President (OP).
This was revealed by Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Sunday.
Under the proposed executive order (EO), the proposed reconstituted NWRB will be responsible for policy, direction-setting and the integration of all government efforts pertaining to water.
Nograles said in a statement that “given the scope and breadth of water-related concerns, the supervision of OP could help ensure that all 30-plus agencies involved in water resource management are on the same page.” The NWRB is currently under the supervision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources by virtue of EO 123, Series of 2002.
While the provisions of the proposed EO are still being finalized and have yet to be submitted to the President for his input and approval, Nograles said the proposed EO will cover the different components of integrated water resource management (IWRM).
The body will also be responsible for the crafting of a national water-management master plan that will integrate all relevant and existing plans and road maps of the different agencies that play a role in IWRM, he said.
The Palace official said the issuance of the EO was discussed at the last Cabinet Assistance System meeting in Leyte on Friday.
“At this point we have built a consensus on how we can address these issues, but the recommendations as outlined in the EO will still be subject to the approval of the President,” he added.
Manila Water on Saturday said it has already restored supply to 80 percent after a week of scheduled water interruptions.
The water crisis was blamed on a combination of population growth and the corresponding uptick in the number of water consumers, the unusually huge demand brought about by a “mild” El Niño and limited water allocation for the East Zone, which were serviced by Manila Water. Critics, however, said Manila Water itself was to blame for failing to prepare for the projected increase in customers.
House probe
The House of Representatives called on top officials of Manila Water, Maynilad Water Services Inc., the NWRB and five mayors of Metro Manila to attend the House’s investigation on Monday into the water shortage in parts of Metro Manila and Rizal.
The House Committee on Metro Manila Development chaired by Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo and the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development chaired by Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez want to find out what caused the water shortage and the possible solutions to it.
Meanwhile, Castelo said the Oversight Committee on Public Utilities will file and approve the resolution on Monday allowing the use of deep wells to ease the crisis affecting 1.2 million households in East Zone.
Last Friday, Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the opening of the cross-border pipe at the corner of West Avenue corner Bulacan Street, in Quezon City, to enable Maynilad to give water to Manila Water. With the opening, some 10 million liters of water per day will immediately flow to the east zone.
Ironic twist
This developed as Senator Nancy Binay noted an ironic twist in Metro Manila’s water-supply crisis as the country observed “Water Week.”
“Our country is blessed with an abundance of water, and it is ironic that as we celebrate Philippine Water Week, many Filipinos are being deprived of access to water,” Binay said over the weekend. “Having unusually heavy rainfall levels—particularly coming from a waterworld to a waterless scourge—seeing the taps run dry is galling,” she said in a statement.
“We reiterate our call to have a clear policy on maintaining water security whenever water supply goes bad,” she added, suggesting that government regulators concerned “should have a holistic and comprehensive water-resource plan, as well as an effective water allocation and reuse policy.”
With a report from Butch Fernandez