By Gabriela Baron
Copyright tribune
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday, 29 September, lamented that the country’s water crisis is not caused by drought, but by neglect.Hontiveros cited crises in various locations—for instance, in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, where residents report high water bills despite a weak water supply.In Bacolod, water is available, but it has high turbidity, making it dark in color and unsafe for families to drink. Meanwhile, in some parts of Cavite, people are calling tap water “holy water”—not because it is holy, but because “it’s a miracle when water comes out.”“These anomalies are the result of contracts entered into by water districts with various private companies, such as PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation, Manila Water Philippine Ventures, Metro Pacific Water Investments Corp., and others,” Hontiveros said in Filipino during Monday’s hearing of the Committee on Public Services.“The system is clearly broken. Multiple institutions and regulatory mechanisms are failing to protect our consumers, and we have to know why,” Hontiveros added.The senator called on all concerned government agencies to help identify long-lasting solutions to bring clean and accessible water to all Filipino families.“We also need urgent solutions. Action must be taken immediately to end one-sided joint venture agreements, where consumers lose,” she added.Hontiveros stressed that all agreements on water provision must include strong, automatically enforceable penalties, including substantial cash bonds. If water providers fail, “they must be punished.”“There should also be an agency that consumers can approach to file complaints—not one they have to go through just to report a service issue,” she added.Hontiveros said local government units must also be empowered to invest in and assist local water districts.Further, she expressed hope that the Commission on Audit, the Local Water Utilities Administration, the National Water Resources Board, and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel can help identify long-lasting solutions to bring accessible water to every home.“Water service is a basic public service, not a business. Water is life, and Filipinos should not be begging for a few drops from the tap. The right to safe and sufficient water should not be considered a miracle.”
