LUBAO, Pampanga – “By 2025, a water shortage will be upon us.”
This was the warning aired by Francis Tolentino, a member of the Hugpong Ng Pagbabago (HNP) senatorial slate, in his campaign sortie here on Friday.
In order to avert the crisis, Tolentino said he is proposing to create a Department of Water similar to that in Pakistan because “by the year 2025, we will have a water shortage in the Philippines.”
He said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) will make an announcement soon when the El Niño weather phenomena will be felt in our country.
True to his word, Pagasa announced in a press briefi ng on Wednesday that the El Niño, a weather pattern associated with reduced rainfall, is now affecting the Philippines.
“If you check Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte, putuk putuk na ang lupa, bitak bitak na that means kailangan tayo magtipid ng tubig (…the ground is chapped, full of cracks, that means we need to conserve water),” he noted.
“Ako yung nag file ng appeal sa MWSS (Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System) order granting Manila Water and Maynilad the right to increase the water rates starting in the first quarter of this year (I was the one who filed an appeal to the MWSS which order…),” he said.
“But nothing had happened to that yet,” he added.
This is also being discussed in Congress a few weeks ago where Congressman Perez summoned the officials of MWSS, Tolentino said.
Due to the impending water shortage, Tolentino said water has become part of his advocacy. “Bahagi na rin ng advocacy ko yung tungkol sa tubig.”
Tolentino said 80 percent of our requirement in manufacturing is infrastructure like the “Build Build Build” program. People also need water which is 17 percent for our domestic consumption.
“So, where can we get water if there is no water?” he asked.
“So, my proposal is to create an agency or department to embody and encompass MWSS, the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), National Water Resources Board (NWRB), and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) into one Department of Water similar to the Department of Water in Pakistan,” he said.
Tolentino said the department will be the sole regulator of water and will be responsible in initiating conservation and sourcing of water.
He said the LWUA is more of a GOCC granting assistance to local water districts.
