THE VIEW FROM RIZAL

In his most recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Bongbong Marcos announced that he is now “coordinating” with Congress for the creation of the Department of Water Resources (DWR). That was, perhaps, one of the most important highlights of his second SONA, and one which stands to become one of the most significant legacies of his administration. We join the many Filipinos who applauded the President’s history-making move. It will be recalled that in last week’s column, we expressed the hope shared by many that the President would announce his support for the creation of this department in this year’s SONA. We did so in the wake of soaring temperatures, decreasing water levels in our dams, and frequent interruptions of water supply to many households in the National Capital Region and nearby provinces. We mentioned that several international organizations have warned against water shortage rising to crisis levels even as several countries in the world are scraping the bottom of their depleted water tables. The crisis has become so worrisome that the head of the Paris-based World Meteorological Organization (WMO) described the current situation as “uncharted waters.” The world has never been here before. That served as the perfect backdrop for the President’s announcement regarding his efforts at the creation of the DWR. The announcement was among the items applauded in his speech. In a way, the President brought the announcement to some kind of a climactic point in his address. Before he made the announcement, he bannered the important achievements of his administration in the area of economic development. While he admitted that the country reeled under the effects of “certain strong headwinds,” including the war in Ukraine and unmitigated inflation, he bannered the gains that his administration marked during the first year of his presidency. Among these were the 6.4 percent growth in gross domestic product, our strong macroeconomic potentials, and our recognition as one of the fastest-growing economies, not just in Southeast Asia, but in the rest of the world. Then, he segued into his vision for the agricultural sector, underscoring the need for “biosecurity” and to “modernize, mechanize and make the farming more systematic.” No doubt, the President has a full grasp of the risks that food production in our country faces, and the urgent need to act on them right away. At the core of the remedy, of course, is water. Modernization, mechanization, and any other attempt at transforming our farms may prove futile unless the government can assure the sector that there will be enough fresh water to irrigate them. Water remains the single most important farm input. We laud the move of the President. We look forward to the creation of this department. We also look forward to the President naming a “water czar.” Given the huge number of stakeholders that our water resources have, the administration would need someone who has both the talent, the will, and the courage to reconcile conflicting interests, synchronize policies, and get the government machinery to get their act together in a cohesive bid to protect and expand our water resources. We will not be surprised if the President would eventually announce that he will hold this portfolio as soon as the DWR is created. After all, the economic and social gains of his administration would not amount to much if this precious resource is to continue to be mismanaged and diminished. His announcement that billions of pesos from the national budget have been earmarked for water projects also inspires hope. We also laud the many other plans that the President outlined in his SONA. Many of these plans will directly impact local governments and communities. Among these are the President’s move to hasten infrastructure development, including the construction of new road links and bridges that will decrease travel time between regions. This move will speed up the transportation of people and goods, improving commerce among provinces in the province. The President also underscored the continuation by his administration of our country’s pursuit of social justice through the redistribution of land under the agrarian reform program. More farmers will get to own the land that they till, making them responsible for their future by putting a valuable resource into their hands. We are also buoyed by the President’s restatement of his commitment to renewable energy – which includes power generation technologies that depend also on the availability of a strong supply of water. After listening to the President’s SONA, we can say that the country is moving in the right direction. *(For feedback, please email it to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) or send it to Block 6 Lot 10 Sta. Barbara 1 cor. Bradley St., Mission Hills Subd., Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City, Rizal.)*