Let's not wait until the water runs dry
Published Apr 2, 2023 11:43 pm
Year in, year out, alarm bells over a water crisis are being raised by various sectors of society. Water shortage is experienced in different parts of the country, drying large tracts of land and destroying the agriculture sector, due particularly to the entrance of the dry season, but now exacerbated because of the effects of climate change.
What’s different this year is that the government seems to be ready to address this perennial problem, if we are to use as basis the recent pronouncements of the administration and the departments involved in this issue.
For one, when the President was asked by the media what his administration is doing to address the impending water crisis, he was confident to say that the government is ready to — once and for all — not only solve the issue at hand, but to address its root causes.
First, the President acknowledged that this is not a seasonal issue but something that affects all of us on a day-to-day basis. Summer or not, some Filipinos still do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. Various industries also face water shortages even when it is the rainy season.
To address the root causes of the water crisis, the first thing that the administration did was to issue an executive order creating the Water Resource Management Office (WRMO). For the meantime, the WRMO is tasked to consolidate various plans to tackle the water crisis, pending the creation of a full-fledged department that will be known as the Department of Water Resources (DWR).
The President called on Congress to fasttrack the passage of a bill to create DWR. “There are many agencies that are concerned when it comes to water management. So, we have to make it more cohesive. That’s why we established (the WRMO), which presently will be attached to the Office of the President and the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources),” Marcos said. “We are hoping down the road… since there are bills filed in the legislature in both houses, to establish the (DWR).”
The DENR is also proactively addressing the looming water crisis brought about by climate change. This was stated by DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga during the United Nations 2023 Water Conference last March 22 to 24, 2023.
“Today, more than ever, there is a critical need for nexus governance, climate and disaster resilience, one that pursues a strategic balance between supply and consumption of water for health, food, energy, and environmental security,” Loyzaga said. She noted that the WRMO, which is a first in history, aims to “achieve water security by integrating the functions of all agencies with water-related mandates.”
The creation of the agency, and its eventual transformation to a full department is being prioritized in coordination with the legislative branch. The President is aware that things have to move faster, as water is life, and an efficient water management system means a healthier population and a stronger nation. “We have kept postponing this problem over many years at every level. So, it’s time to put in a cohesive (water management) plan that every LGU and government agency can follow.”
A looming water crisis can not be tackled with a trickle of solutions; it must be faced with an all-out, hands-on-deck action from the government, solving issues from the ground up, and uprooting years of inefficiencies, bureaucratic entanglements, and roadblocks. Only then we will all feel the flow of relief, knowing that a water crisis is a thing of the past.
What’s different this year is that the government seems to be ready to address this perennial problem, if we are to use as basis the recent pronouncements of the administration and the departments involved in this issue.
For one, when the President was asked by the media what his administration is doing to address the impending water crisis, he was confident to say that the government is ready to — once and for all — not only solve the issue at hand, but to address its root causes.
First, the President acknowledged that this is not a seasonal issue but something that affects all of us on a day-to-day basis. Summer or not, some Filipinos still do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. Various industries also face water shortages even when it is the rainy season.
To address the root causes of the water crisis, the first thing that the administration did was to issue an executive order creating the Water Resource Management Office (WRMO). For the meantime, the WRMO is tasked to consolidate various plans to tackle the water crisis, pending the creation of a full-fledged department that will be known as the Department of Water Resources (DWR).
The President called on Congress to fasttrack the passage of a bill to create DWR. “There are many agencies that are concerned when it comes to water management. So, we have to make it more cohesive. That’s why we established (the WRMO), which presently will be attached to the Office of the President and the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources),” Marcos said. “We are hoping down the road… since there are bills filed in the legislature in both houses, to establish the (DWR).”
The DENR is also proactively addressing the looming water crisis brought about by climate change. This was stated by DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga during the United Nations 2023 Water Conference last March 22 to 24, 2023.
“Today, more than ever, there is a critical need for nexus governance, climate and disaster resilience, one that pursues a strategic balance between supply and consumption of water for health, food, energy, and environmental security,” Loyzaga said. She noted that the WRMO, which is a first in history, aims to “achieve water security by integrating the functions of all agencies with water-related mandates.”
The creation of the agency, and its eventual transformation to a full department is being prioritized in coordination with the legislative branch. The President is aware that things have to move faster, as water is life, and an efficient water management system means a healthier population and a stronger nation. “We have kept postponing this problem over many years at every level. So, it’s time to put in a cohesive (water management) plan that every LGU and government agency can follow.”
A looming water crisis can not be tackled with a trickle of solutions; it must be faced with an all-out, hands-on-deck action from the government, solving issues from the ground up, and uprooting years of inefficiencies, bureaucratic entanglements, and roadblocks. Only then we will all feel the flow of relief, knowing that a water crisis is a thing of the past.