Green advocates said Sunday that the government’s water and energy policies as the cause of the current water shortage in the country, particularly in provinces hit by long dry spell and water scarcity.

At the commemoration of the International Day of Action Against Dams: For Rivers, Water, and Life (now called International Day of Action for Rivers), environmental advocates and indigenous peoples held responsible the “flawed” policies and current “ineffective administration as the real national calamity being experienced in the country at present.

The international day is observed every March 14 and was inspired by the participants of First International Meeting of People Affected by Dams that took place in March, 1997 in Curitiba, Brazil.

“Much of our water resources such as rivers, springs, waterfalls and underground water are being controlled and used by big foreign and private corporations through their water permit,” Kalikasan national coordinator Clemente Bautista Jr. said.

“The government acts as a facilitator for the biased distribution and control of our water resources in favor of big business enterprises over public service such as irrigating farmlands and supplying the water needs of communities,” he added.

Kalikasan, with sectoral and progressive organizations under the Water for the People Network (WPN), identified privatization and the unequal distribution of water resources in the Philippines as the causes of the water shortage the country is experiencing.