Pacquiao renews call for creation of Department of Water (Sabong News)
Author
Joseph Pedrajas
Date
APRIL 04 2022
Presidential candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao has renewed his call for the creation of the Department of Water as he expressed concern over the decreasing amount of clean and potable water caused by environmental abuse and overpopulation in the country.
During the Commission on Elections (Comelec) -sponsored debate Sunday night, Pacquiao said it is time for the government to have a separate agency that will have jurisdiction over the regulation, management, and development of the country’s water resources, including the sewerage system.
This came as he stressed that pollution, climate change, overpopulation, illegal logging, and the shrinking watershed areas are pushing a lot of pressure on private water concessionaires to have an adequate water supply, especially during the dry season.
“Alam nyo po pagdating sa usapin sa tubig talagang importante iyan dahil ang tao hindi ka tatagal kung walang tubig. Tumatagal ka kahit walang pagkain basta may tubig lang. Pero ang point dito is kailangan talagang magkaroon ng regulatory (agency) pagdating sa usapin sa tubig (You know, when it comes to water, it’s really important to have a discussion about that, because people cannot live without water. You can survive without food, but not without water. The point here is we have to have a regulatory agency when it comes to water),” the lawmaker said.
“Nagpa-imbestiga ako diyan. Tulakan ng tulakan kung sino ang in-charge sa pag-manage ng tubig. Kaya kailangan natin ng Department of Water. Importante po iyan para ma-manage ang tubig natin (I asked for an investigation. They keep on passing the responsibility of who will be in charge of managing the water. That’s why we need a Department of Water because it’s important to manage our waters),” he added.
For three years now, Pacquiao has been batting for the creation of such a department through filing Senate Bill 195, “which will holistically integrate all measures designed to ensure the availability and quality of water, and synchronize all the acts of all government agencies that have water-related functions.”
“The government has more than 30 different agencies/units that have water-related functions but the centrality of data on water resources remains absent. The lack of a lead government body coordinating with water-related issues contributes to the growing water crisis. Actual integration needs a law,” Pacquiao said in his bill that remains pending in the Senate Committee on Public Services.
