P-Noy to study proposal on water management body

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino said yesterday that he would study a proposal from Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Rogelio Singson to create a body to manage all natural water resources in the Philippines.

“I have always believed that my job as Chief Executive requires the efficient allocation of resources. After giving much thought to the problems of our water sector, it was apparent to me that we needed to approach our water resources from a holistic point of view and a unified mindset. We had to leave behind the confusion of the past – with over 30 different water-related agencies with overlapping mandates. So, I created an Inter-Agency Committee on the Water Sector, headed by DPWH secretary Singson, to create a comprehensive master plan for our water sector,” Aquino said.

“I am told their proposal includes an agency to manage our national water resources, a proposal we will carefully review. Addressing the problems of our rivers is an important part of addressing the problems of our water sector. Our presence here today signifies that all of us – whether we are members of government, or members of civil society; whether we are Filipinos or foreigners – have taken on the shared responsibility of protecting our rivers,” he said at the closing ceremony of the First Philippine International River Summit in Jaro, Iloilo City.

The President stressed the need to increase forest cover in river basins to prevent massive flooding.

He called for a strengthened partnership with the private sector in managing and preserving the country’s water resources.

“We Filipinos have always been a people of the river. From the earliest days of our history, it is along the shores of our rivers that we founded our communities and derived our livelihoods. And this tendency has continued.

“Today, we have found more and more ways to harness our rivers, using them as sources of hydroelectric power, irrigation, and additional water supply, among others. And yet, we find that they are now among the most beleaguered of our natural resources. Studies have shown that human activity plays a large part in the degradation of our 421 principal river basins – from inappropriate and sometimes illegal agricultural and forestry activities, to unregulated land conversion that contributes to siltation and sedimentation: in other words, poor water management,” Aquino said.

“Knowing as we do that human activities have contributed to the degradation of this important resource, we can now take the necessary steps to correct our mistakes. We have been given the chance to learn from each other. And this summit has shown us that there are ways for us to balance our needs with our wants: to make use of our rivers and other water resources without destroying or draining them,” he said.

The President said he could not think of a better host and better model than the Iloilo City government as the work they had poured into restoring and protecting the Iloilo River was impressive: from dredging operations, to planting mangroves and conducting cleanup drives, to institutionalizing the Iloilo River Development Council.

He also inaugurated the Iloilo River Esplanade, a testament to the importance Iloilo was giving to its resources.

The President cited stage 2 of the Jalaur River Project, a hydroelectric power plant project that would benefit 18,000 farmers by providing irrigation to 32,000 hectares of farmland, augment the water supply and contribute to the power supply of Iloilo. – With Rhodina Villanueva