PHILIPPINES, August 12 - Press Release
August 12, 2024

Co-Sponsorship Speech
Sen. Joel Villanueva
Senate Bill No. 2771 under Committee Report No. 281

Mr. President, my esteemed colleagues:

Good afternoon. I am proud to co-sponsor Senate Bill No. 2771 or the National Water Resources Management Act. Allow me to thank the good sponsor, Sen. Poe, for considering the bill filed by this representation in the Committee Report - Senate Bill No. 2013, Establishing the National Framework for Water Resource Management and Creating the Department of Water Resources and the Water Regulatory Commission.

It is a universal truth that water is life. Without water, life as we know it would be impossible. Humans can go for up to one or two months without food, but we can only survive for a few days without water. The United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights.

Without water security, particularly access to safe drinking water, the health, sanitation, and lives of our people are endangered. In 2016, about 4 billion people or almost two-thirds of the global population experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year.^[1]1.42 billion people in the world, a third of whom are children, live in areas of high or extremely high water vulnerability.^[2] In 2020, the UNICEF and the World Health Organization recorded that only 47.46% of the entire population in the Philippines had access to safely managed drinking water.^[3]

Without water security, we cannot attain food security because the entire agriculture sector depends on it. Ayon sa datos ng Department of Agriculture, tinatalang nasa P5.9 billion na ang pinsala ng matinding tagtuyot sa agrikultura.^[4] Ngayong taon, naglaan po tayo ng higit P70 bilyon na pondo para sa programang patubig ng gobyerno sa ilalim ng National Irrigation Administration.^[5] Umaasa po tayo na maibsan sana nito ang matinding pagsubok na hinaharap ng ating mga magsasaka lalo na sa mga apektadong probinsya.

Sino po ba ang makakalimot sa krisis sa tubig noong 2019, bago pa mag-pandemya? Sampung-libong kabahayan sa Metro Manila ang nawalan ng supply ng tubig. Dahil sa climate change, hindi malayong ganito ang haharapin nating hamon sa mga susunod pang mga taon kaya kailangan talaga natin ng matinding pagpaplano at paghahanda.

These underscore the importance of this measure President Marcos himself mentioned the fundamental importance of water security in his 2023 State of the Nation Address. The creation of a Department of Water, which is one of his priority measures, deserves special focus. The President noted that "our efforts must not be scattershot, but rather, cohesive, centralized, and systematic" and we completely agree^.[6]

The proposed Department of Water Resources, to be created under the bill for our consideration, will unify and streamline what was once a fragmented approach to water management in the Philippines. It is our hope that the under the leadership of the Department of Water Resources, we also be able to explore cross-cutting solutions to the flooding that has plagued our country, as we saw recently during Typhoon Carina, such as rainwater harvesting. With this new department, we hope to ensure access to safe drinking water to even the most far-flung areas of our country.

Naniniwala kami na ang pagkakaisa ng pagsisikap ng ating mga ahensiya sa larangan ng tubig ay makabuluhan sa landas patungong pambansang seguridad ng tubig. Kaya't buong-buo ang suporta natin sa panukalang ito.

Thank you, Mr. President, and may God bless us all.

_______________________

[1] https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/water-scarcity

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1456912/who-unicef-report-nearly-half-of-filipinos-get-safe-drinking-water#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20at%20least%20half,46.34%20percent%20recorded%20in%202015.

[4] https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1223901

[5] https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/2024/general-appropriations-act-gaa-fy-2024#volume-i-b

[6]

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2023/07/24/ferdinand-r-marcos-jr-first-state-of-the-nation-address-july-24-2023/

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