House panels probe Metro water crisis
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2019 09:39:21 +0000
A MAN fills up a container with water from a fire hydrant amid a water interruption at Mandaluyong City. (Jansen Romero)
Top officials of Manila Water, Maynilad, water regulators, and five Metro Manila mayors are expected to attend today’s joint House panel probe on the water crisis in Metro Manila and Rizal.
The House Committee on Metro Manila Development chaired by Quezon City Rep. Winston “Winnie” Castelo and the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, chaired by Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez, are set to jointly conduct the hearing at 7 a.m.
“We need to get a clear picture of the situation and how we’re going to deal with it because a lot of people are already getting adversely affected by the problem,” Castelo said. “We will need explanations from the concessionaires, regulators, and the experts why we got into this mess and their suggestion on how we can get out of it,” he said.
Castelo expressed hope that all the invited resource persons would attend the hearing to enable them to “collectively come up with the right approach to overcome the water crisis.”
Benitez said: “We have to look into the water shortage with dispatch and assure the people that the government is addressing the problem with assurance that it would not happen again.”
Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles attributed the Metro Manila’s water shortage to Manila Water’s alleged lack of foresight and mismanagement.
“The water interruptions are localized within the concession areas of Manila Water. This is simply mismanagement. Manila Water should be truthful to the public instead of blaming Mother Nature for their negligence,” he said.
The Metro Manila mayors who are expected to attend the hearing are Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, Pasig City Mayor Roberto Eusebio, Navotas City Mayor John Reynald Tiangco, Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi, and Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan.
The Office of the President might soon take supervision over the National Water Resources Board that would be empowered to craft a master plan on water management in the country, a Palace official said yesterday.
The transfer of the NWRB to the OP from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will be among the proposed provisions of the draft executive order to help address the country’s water issues, according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.
The draft EO, covering different components of integrated water resource management, will be submitted to President Duterte for his input and approval, he added.
“Given the scope and breadth of water-related concerns, the supervision of OP could help ensure that all 30-plus agencies involved in water resource management are on the same page,” said Nograles who led the Cabinet Assistance System meeting in Leyte last Friday.
He said the NWRB would be reconstituted into a body responsible for policy, direction-setting, and the integration of all government efforts related to water.
The board would also craft “a national water management master plan that will integrate all relevant and existing plans and roadmaps of the different agencies that play a role in IWRM,” he said.
Nograles also recognized the need for various government agencies to work together instead of playing the blame game amid the water supply interruptions in Metro Manila.
He noted that the CAS representatives were “focused on finding solutions to the problem instead of dwelling on its roots.” (Charissa L. Atienza and Genalyn Kabiling)