TWO re-electionist senators are pushing for the creation of the Department of Water and the activation of Task Force El Niño as measures to address pressing problem on water experienced by the country's agriculture sector.
Senator Paulo Benigno Aquino IV, at the sidelines of his campaign sorties in Negros Occidental said on Tuesday, March 12, issues on water have been neglected in the past three decades and has now became one of the major concerns of the country that need urgent solution.
Aquino said there are currently about 30 agencies which manage the country's water and it's time to put it all under one roof.
"With one department for water, long term plans will be clearer," he said, adding that experts are really saying that water issues will be the next frontier of the problems among countries.
The senator pointed out that as short-term solution to the effects brought by "drought" in some provinces in the country including Negros Occidental, the government should help the farmers.
They should be given financial support to ensure that farmer-families will not starve, Aquino said.
For the long-term solution, Aquino said, it is really creating more infrastructure projects like water reservoirs.
"We actually just received the version creating the Department of Water from stakeholders in the water sector," he said. "We will probably file a bill next week."
Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe is pushing for the approval of the bill creating a single agency in charge of sustainable water management and sanitation.
The move is also seen to address threats brought by the prolonged dry spell in the country, including Negros Occidental.
Poe, who was also in Bacolod City on Tuesday for a campaign sortie, said problems in the water sector could be better addressed if there is a uniformed regulatory framework.
"There should be one water regulatory board not only for water but also for sewerage system, which we don't have yet," she said in one of her radio interviews.
In 2016, Poe filed Senate Bill 1217 or the proposed Water Regulatory Act, seeking to rationalize and streamline functions of various state agencies in terms of water regulation in an independent body that is mandated to set the policy for water supply, sewerage and septage management, issue licenses and set, review or approve rates.
Current systems relating to water supply, management and regulation are fragmented, resulting in ineffective delivery of water and sanitation services, she said.
The senator also urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) and other government agencies to activate a Task Force El Niño that would identify communities severely impacted by drought and water shortage.
"There should be a Task Force El Niño for us to see where we can immediately help. It will enable us to identify areas that need to be prioritized," Poe added.
In Negros Occidental, initial damage brought by the extreme heat to the agriculture sector amounts to about P6.4 million.
The figure comprised production losses in rice crops, and livestock and poultry animals.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol earlier said that El Niño is expected to wane toward the end of April or May in other parts of the country.
Forecast, however, is not good for Negros as the dry spell in the province like Mindoro and Palawan will be felt until late November this year," he added. (EPN)