BAGUIO City Representative Marquez Go has expressed support for the creation of a water department after his legislative measure was recently approved in principle at the Lower House.
Go said the measure was discussed in Congress under the committee on government reorganization approving a department of water which he expects to be passed later on.
"This measure will ensure the public that we will have potable water and anything related to water," he said.
"One thing we discussed here is my manifestation in our committee meeting to include the provision for all water districts in the country to be responsible not only for water, but to be responsible for the waste water management which includes our sewer because they are the ones who distributes water," the lawmaker said.
A joint panel of the House of Representatives has approved a substitute bill consolidating 35 House bills seeking to create the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Water Regulatory Commission (WRC).
The committee on government reorganization and committee on public works and highways both approved on November 12 the unnumbered substitute bill.
Go made an example of the Baguio Water District who distributes the water needs of the city but does not manage the waste management.
"What we want is for the water districts to not only manage water distribution but should include water waste management as well," he said.
However, Go said they did not discuss the inclusion of private water delivery services.
He added that the department will have the necessary guidelines to not only ensure the delivery of drinking water to all consumers in the country, but to also manage wastewater so that no contamination might occur.
The committee noted the urgency and importance of the substitute measure given the issues plaguing the water supply in Metro Manila and other parts of the country under the directives of President Rodrigo Duterte.
DWR, if approved, will be the primary national agency to implement Presidential Decree 1067, otherwise known as the Water Code of the Philippines, and Republic Act 9275, otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.
Its creation will ensure there is a government body responsible and accountable for all aspects of water resource management, including the development of dams and other infrastructure, the harvest of water, and the management of the waste water system.
The measure also provides for the creation of the Water Regulatory Commission, which will serve as an independent, quasi-judicial regulatory body under the administrative supervision of the DWR as an attached agency.
DWR will essentially be in charge of resource management, while the WRC will be focused on economic regulation, according to Representative Joey Sarte Salceda, who sponsored the bill during the November 12 hearing and authored one of the substituted measures.