We  have  such an abundance of rain in this  country  that floods are a perennial  problem.  With the floods  come  landslides  as days  of heavy rains loosen the earth and mountainsides come sliding  down   to bury entire communities. Our  rains are y among  our most  bountiful natural resources, along with sunlight, our seas and rivers, our winds,  even the underground heat  of  our  volcanoes,  and, of course, our  minerals from our  mountains  and wood from  our  forests. We have  long exploited the power of  our rivers  with dams producing electric power,  the geothermal  heat beneath our  volcanoes,  our winds turning fields of  wind mills,  and  the sun’s  heat  harvested  with  solar panels. We depend on our rains to fill  our  dams  each  rainy season, to  provide water for our farmers, our power plants, and our industrial and household needs. But so much of our rains is wasted as they flood our cities  and  lowlands before  flowing out  to  sea. A bill has  now  been  filed in Congress by Rep. LRay Villafuerte of Camarines Sur to require commercial, institutional, and residential estate developers to set up  rainwater  retention  facilities in their coming projects. This will help reduce flooding but the greater significance  is  that  this will make use of so much water  that is now simply wasted. Under the proposed law, a developer of a new project in Metro Manila and other  major  cities with an area of at least  1,500 square meters  is required  to  develop and maintain at least 3 percent  of the area as  a rainwater  harvesting  facility. “Rainwater is a free, abundant, and  a  regular  natural resource that  the Philippines is fortunate to receive year in and year out,” Congressman Villafuerte  said. “It is high time  that  we make use of it for the general  advantage of our people.” He said California in the United States has a Rainwater Capture Act with which it saves rainfall to help address the widespread  drought  that  it suffers during the dry season.  In  Australia, he added, most  buildings use captured  rainwater for fountains  and for flushing  toilets. We already have a Renewable Resources Law, enacted in 2005,  encouraging  the production and use of renewable energy,   providing incentives such as reduction  or cancellation of certain government fees, and requiring  grid operators to provide them access to the grid.  So many renewable power plants – wind, solar, biomass, etc –have since been established in our country. With House Bill 8088, we will add  rainwater – an abundant resource  in our islands -- to  these  renewable resources  while helping  to reduce the danger they  pose during the flood season.