By Liza Soriano
MANILA — Senator Grace Poe emphasized that the current water shortage experienced in provinces could persist if the management of water resources remains unaddressed.
“The core issue of our water crisis lies in a failure of regulation. It’s not a lack of resources but rather ineffective resource management,” Poe asserted.
“With drought today and floods looming in the next months, it seems this has become an annual reality for our fellow citizens,” Poe remarked while presiding over the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services regarding her Senate Bill No. 102.
The proposed measure aims to establish a Department of Water tasked with leading and coordinating nationwide efforts to ensure comprehensive and integrated development and management of water resources.
Poe noted that, to date, at least 131 cities and municipalities from Ilocos Norte to Cotabato have been severely affected by water shortages, leading to the declaration of a state of calamity.
According to the National Economic Development Authority, out of 1,486 municipalities, approximately 332—mostly in urban poor areas or the poorest provinces—are considered waterless.
(el Amigo/MNM)
