Senator Grace Poe said preparations being made by water regulators and concessionaires during the dry season are more effective if adequate policies are in place.
“The preparations of our water regulators and concessionaires during the dry months should be complemented by proper policies in place to spare our people from the brunt of the perennial water crisis,” she said.
The lawmaker reiterated her call for the passage of the bill that will create the Department of Water Resources.
Poe said this will “lead and consolidate whole-of-society efforts for the comprehensive and integrated development and management of water resources.”
“We need this new body amid the rising demand for water with the population growth and increasing commercial activities,” she said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is set to create a task force through an executive order that would focus on the country’s preparedness against El Niño, which is expected to hit the country in the first half of 2024.
The dry season, which is forecast to start this month and will peak in April 2024, is expected to affect almost the entire country.
The Department of Science and Technology warned the El Niño phenomenon will severely affect 65 provinces.
DOST Sec. Renato Solidum, Jr. earlier said some of the effects of the El Niño are already being felt in some parts of the country, adding by May 2024, 77 percent of provinces may experience drought, and seven percent may experience dry spells. – PNA
