Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Tuesday, April 2, said the Duterte administration is considering to form a Department of Water.
This was brought up during a “fruitful” 36th Cabinet meeting on Monday, as the Cabinet officials discussed how the government will mitigate the effects of El Niño and water shortage in the country.
“A roadmap was presented, which included immediate, medium and long-term interventions, such as making an intensive campaign for the conservation of water and energy, creating a Department of Water and a Department of Disaster Resilience, dredging of waterways, replacing tunnels and aqueducts, installing water tank systems in all Department of Health hospitals and providing funding for the establishment of water treatment plants,” Panelo said.
He added that a proposed executive order (EO) on “transforming and strengthening the National Water Resources Board (NWRB)” was also presented by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Adoracion Navarro during the meeting.
The EO, according to the Palace official, will merge the NWRB and the River Basic Control Office into the National Water Management Council (NWMC) to “streamline and consolidate planning and regulation of all water and river basins in the country” and “draft a National Water Management Framework Plan.
The idea of creating a Water Department was first floated by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia in March, following the water crisis experienced in some parts of Metro Manila and Rizal province.
“It’s a real shame we have a Dept.
of Energy, which is important, but we utterly lack an apex body–a Dept of Water–to ensure water supply and distribution–an indispensable vital need,” he wrote in a tweet, adding, “‘Water is life.’ As the age-old saying goes, ‘ok lang kung walang ilaw, basta lang may tubig (It is okay if we do not have lights, as long as we have water)!”
But Panelo had thumbed down Pernia’s suggestion, saying that there is ‘no need’ for such department as the water shortage in those areas was already addressed.
Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson, who is currently the president of Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGen), earlier expressed his support to the formation of a Department of Water, saying that it will be a “game changer to address disasters caused by flooding, landslides, siltation, potable water shortages.”
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) had declared the official start of the dry season in the country last month, saying that El Niño phenomenon might be experienced until August.