SINGSON

Like Metro Manila, other parts of the country may experience severe water problems due to the aggravating impacts of weather disturbances.

This was the warning issued by Secretary Heherson Alvarez, Climate Change Commission (CCC) vice chairman, as he said the prevailing water shortage must serve as a wake-up call for the public to commit to efforts of intensified water conservation as well as water resources or river basin systems protection.

While Alvarez is raising the warning, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson said the worst is apparently over for the shortfall of water supply in some areas in Metro Manila, citing that the water level of Angat Dam has continued to rise.

Despite this claim, Singson said 117 barangays in Metro Manila are still having zero to six hours supply of water.

Singson, at the sametime, cautioned people in water stations against being unruly, warning that they will be arrested or at least sanctioned for any uncalled for actions.

There are at least three million residents in Metro Manila are currently experiencing shortened water service, while some have been experiencing no water supply for more than a week due to the dwindling level of Angat Dam.

As of Thursday, Angat Dam’s elevation slightly increased by 44 centimeters bringing the dam’s level to 158.60 meters, but remains short of by 21.95 meters from its standard operating level of 180 meters.

Alvarez said the public must be more conscious of their water use, avoiding water wastage and instead practice efficient water utilization, in order to cushion the adverse effect of a water crisis.

“Failure to address global warming and climate change could lead to more horrible water problems like flashfloods, drought, and water supply shortage for domestic use. We should conserve water in any way that we can,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez, a former senator and secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), pointed out that management for river basin system, including watersheds, forests, mangroves, and rivers should be strengthened to mitigate impacts of climate change.

Alvarez explained that according to the latest science, forest is not only a fallback to floods or even drought, but is also considered carbon sinks that can be a defense against the clear danger of the changing climate.

CCC said river basins are interlocking and integrated ecosystems, encompassing the entire land surface dissected and drained by streams and creeks that flow downhill into one another, and eventually into one river.

The final destination is an estuary or an ocean, whereas a river basin sends all the water falling on the surrounding land into a central river and out to the sea.

Alvarez said River Basin Management Strategy (RBMS) is among the several approaches that will be pushed by the Commission under the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change.

He cited that Angat Dam, Metro Manila’s main source of domestic water requirements, sources its water supply from the Ipo watershed, which is presently 70 percent denuded.

The damage is attributed to illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming or kaingin, charcoal-making, and the expansion of informal settlers in the area.

The remaining 30 percent of the Ipo watershed, meanwhile, is threatened by intensified logging and kaingin.

As this developed, Senators Pia Cayetano and Loren Legarda called on President Benigno Aquino III to face head-on the current water crisis, urging the administration to consider proposals to centralize and coordinate efforts of various government agencies to map out long term solutions to the recurring problem in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Cayetano said President Aquino should consider the proposal to make himself “water czar” to allow him to take a more direct role in coordinating the plans of actions of different agencies involved in water concerns to solve the current water woes in Metro Manila and provinces worst his by the extended drought.

“The current water crisis is emerging as the first major gut issue that the three-week-old Aquino administration must not downplay, but instead confront head on,” Cayetano said.

“As water czar, the President can also directly oversee the country’s medium- and long-term plans to ensure sufficient water supply to meet the needs of our growing population, as well as the sustainable management of our critical watersheds in the midst of climate change.”

Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson had earlier blamed the National Power Corporation (Napocor) for the water shortage in the metropolis for releasing excessive amount of water from Angat Dam last year. But Napocor disputed the claim, saying that the release of water was done in compliance with new dam protocols.

“It’s discouraging to see different government agencies pointing accusing fingers and pushing for seemingly disjoint solutions at a time when there should be convergence of efforts to address the current water crisis which is actually a recurring problem,” Cayetano said

In her stint as Chairperson of the Senate Environment Committee in the 13th and 14th Congress, Cayetano pushed for the passage of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape Act (now RA 9486) which sought to safeguard Cebu province’s last remaining watershed.

Cayetano also proposed the declaration of the La Mesa Watershed as a watershed reservation.

On the other hand, Legarda expressed alarm that water has become a national security concern and proposed several measures to address the problem.

Among her proposals are: Reforest not only mountains and watersheds, but also plant in urban areas; Implement the Rainwater Collection Act; recycle water; introduce “hydroinformatics” in schools; and Clean Rivers and Bays through the initiatives of the local government units and the Metro-Manila Development Authority.

Legarda also deplored the non-implementation of Republic Act No. 6716, otherwise known as the Rainwater and Spring Development Act of 1989 which was passed 21 years ago.

The law mandated the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to “undertake the construction of water wells, rainwater collectors, development of springs and rehabilitation of existing water wells in all barangays in the Philippines in such number as may be needed and feasible”.

But the DPWH has not constructed wells and rainwater collectors, and failed to develop springs and rehabilitate existing water wells in the more than 40,000 barangays during the last 21 years, Legarda lamented. (With a report from Rolly Carandang)