“THE DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways shall, within 30 days after the approval of this Act, undertake the construction of water wells, rainwater collectors, development of springs and rehabilitation of existing water wells in all barangays in the Philippines in such number as may be needed and feasible, taking into consideration the population, hydrologic conditions, costs of project development and operations, financial and economic factors and institutional arrangements.”
So stated Section 2 of the Rainwater Collector and Springs Development Law, or Republic Act 6715. And it has been more than the mandated 30 days, in fact some 30 years now, since RA 6715 was approved – in 1989 yet.
“It seems that the execution of the law has been wanting.” Certainly, an understatement coming from Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel who dug up RA 6715.
“Congress has to ascertain the factors holding up the law’s aggressive operation, and fix the problem right away –whether it is simply due to lack of funding or other issues,” Pimentel said.
The implementation of RA 6715 is an imperative vis-à-vis the current dry spell impacting not only Metro Manila but also 40 provinces, including Central Luzon’s Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales. This, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
RA 6715, properly implemented, turns the curse of floods, concomitant with just about every typhoon and habagat onslaught, into a blessing during the dry season. Think of the volume of water literally going down the drain after demolishing just about everything on its path, if it can only be stored for some future needs.
Why, and what kept the DPWH from exercising its mandate explicit in the law’s Section 2 is all water under the bridge now, or to be spot-on, all dry bed under the bridge now.
The call of the moment is to do it now.
And yes, as Pimentel suggests, enjoin the local government unites to require large water users, such as malls, office buildings and golf courses, to install their own rainwater collectors.
