President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is pushing for the creation of a Department of Water Resources.
“We are going to reorganize everything. But the original idea was that we will reorganize the entire water management process in the Philippines. But because of the exigencies of climate change, we really have to direct our efforts, our attention to [water],” Marcos Jr. said during the 6th Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council’s (LEDAC) full meeting in Malacañang Palace on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
The President said Malacañang will come up with an executive version of the Department of Water Resources bill, which Senate President Francis Escudero said, will be used for debates in the upper chamber.
He prefers to give the flood control job directly to the water resources body with the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) as one of the coordinating agencies, according to him.
Marcos Jr. emphasized that water problems such as flooding and irrigation can’t be solved on a piecemeal basis, prompting the need for a comprehensive plan.
“The mayor of a municipality will only think about what’s happening in their municipality. But water just not work that way. Hindi nangingilala ng boundary ang tubig, kung saan-saan. Basta kung saan ‘yung puwedeng daanan, dumadaan doon,” the chief executive said.IMT
