PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. finally signed the Executive Order creating the new government office to tackle the country’s “water crisis.”
Gracing the 6th edition of Water Philippines Conference and Exposition (WPCE) at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Thursday, Marcos disclosed the Office of Water Management (OWM) will help address the shortage of reliable water supply in some parts of the country.
“It is something that we must always keep in mind, especially now. And that’s why, we in the government—I just signed an executive order wherein we have created the Office of Water Management,” Marcos said.
Left unresolved, the crisis will have detrimental effects on the economy, particularly agriculture, the President said.
“And so these are the things that we really have to attend to. So it really—it impacts the area of food supply, in a food crisis,” Marcos said.
The creation of the OWM, Marcos said, will help plug the gaps in the government’s water policies.
“There are many agencies that are involved in water supply and water management and it has just evolved that way,” Marcos said.
“But what we are going to try to do is to make it a more cohesive policy so that there is planning at the national level and in that way we can maximize the management of what water we have,” he added.
In February, Marcos already approved in principle the creation of the OWM to coordinate the initiatives of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through the creation of an Integrated Water Management Policy (IWMP).
He said he hopes the OWM will be eventually institutionalized into the Department of Water Management (DWM) through legislation.
Aside from the IWMP, the President is also eyeing new technologies to help address local water supplies issues, which are being worsened by climate change.
“I happened to—have been given the opportunity to walk around a little bit and see some of the exhibitors.
And it is very gratifying to note that in fact, the technologies that are being used, that are being employed in terms of water treatment, in terms of water management, are well-known technologies,” Marcos said after touring the exhibits at the WPCE.
“We have of course fine-tuned it so that the filtration systems become better and better, our pumps become more efficient, our connections—water connections are more resilient to typhoons, to earthquakes and the other calamities that might happen along the way,” he added.
Over 300 exhibitors from participating international countries joined the WPCE, which will run from March 22 to 24, 2023.
Senators relieved
Senators sitting in the Public Services committee conveyed consumers’ expectations that the newly created water management office will “hopefully alleviate the creeping water crisis” in the country.
Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the committee, said the creation of a water management office is most welcome while the related bills in Congress are being threshed out.
“This is a timely intervention from the Executive which will hopefully alleviate the creeping water crisis in the country,” said Poe.
She pointed out that “as an archipelago surrounded with water, it is ironic that we have a water crisis in our hands due to a fragmented resource management.”
She added that currently, at least 30 line agencies are tasked with the administration of water in the country, and this has “resulted in policy and regulatory conflicts” among these agencies.
“We expect that this development lays down the groundwork for a more integrated and holistic approach to the water problem,” said Poe, suggesting that “a whole-of-government approach is also necessary to tackle the issues of sourcing and misuse of water in the country.”
At the same time, the senator acknowledged that both the Executive and Legislative departments are “working hard at a more lasting solution” in the form of a new water reform bill to ensure sufficient, clean, and affordable water for all Filipinos.