Senate bets promise to prioritize rehabilitation of water resources

MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan , Philippines  – Senatorial candidates from the the Liberal Party (LP) and the Nacionalista Party (NP) yesterday promised to support the rehabilitation of water resources and infrastructure in the country.

LP senatorial candidate Dr. Martin Bautista said reforestation is the most effective way to retain water supply.

He also proposed a total ban on logging, establishment of seedling banks, compulsory tree planting for Filipinos aged 12 to 65, and dredging of waterways.

NP senatorial candidate Susan Ople, who comes from the coastal town of Hagonoy in Bulacan, said the country’s water resources should be rehabilitated to suit the changing climate because a slight rise in sea water levels can displace settlers of coastal towns and destroy their livelihood. 

Neric Acosta, also from LP, said water supply is the foundation of economic development.

“Water is life itself. Without it, there would be no society,” he said.

Local candidates in the province also urged the protection of the Angat watershed, which is threatened by illegal logging.

 The Angat Dam supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water requirement.

Gubernatorial candidate Willy Alvarado said fishpond operators lose their fish stocks due to heavy runoff during typhoon season.

Edwin Santos, who is running for mayor of Obando, proposed the creation of a coastal road to link Obando to Navotas because 25 percent of the town becomes flooded during high tide and heavy rainfall.

“How can you develop a town like Obando when all dry land goes underwater?” he said.

Environmental group Greenpeace earlier stressed the need to upgrade water infrastructure to suit extreme weather events like the heavy flooding in the metropolis brought by tropical storm “Ondoy” in September last year, and the ongoing El Niño phenomenon. 

Greenpeace called for the implementation of the Rainwater Harvesting law that was enacted in 1989.

The law mandates the Department of Public Works and Highways to construct rainwater collectors in every barangay.