FLOODINGS that have extended to the Visayas and Mindanao – not just in Metro Manila and Luzon -may finally have a solution following the approval by the House of Representatives of a bill devoting an entire agency to address all water-related problems.
Voting 254 against three, congressmen approved on the third and final reading House Bill (HB) No. 9663 (National Water Resources Act), seeking to create the Department of Water Resources to establish the national water resource management framework.
“Preserving water is a priority of the administration of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. We need to manage our water resources properly,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said of the measure, which Marcos mentioned in his July 25 State of the Nation Address (SONA) this year, and listed under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
The proposed department would be the primary agency responsible for the thorough and unified identification and mapping of all water resources and planning, policy creation, and management.
Speaker Romualdez, leader of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives, said creating the DWR will help address urban flooding issues by providing a framework for stormwater and drainage services.
The measure seeks to establish the National Water Resource Allocation Board. HB 9663 also creates a framework for stormwater management – the first in the country.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House ways and means committee and one of the authors who shepherded the bill in the House, said the bill “unifies policy-making, planning, and management for water and septage under a single department called DWR.”
“The DWR Secretary is given functions of presidential adviser on all water-related issues,” he said.
“The measure also unifies regulatory, rate-setting, and licensing functions under the Water Regulatory Commission, a quasi-judicial body similar to the Energy Regulatory Commission. It also fills in policy gaps, including water regulation in provincial areas,” he added.
Salceda underscored the need for a water-focused agency to solve an institutional “decades-old problem of treating water resources as a peripheral and dispersed concern for government.”
“It’s not just another new agency. The recurring water crisis calls for creating a department that will complete the circle regarding water management and enshrine the doctrine and policy that the State owns water. Its management is a State duty,” he stressed.
The principal authors of the bill are Romualdez and Reps. Yedda K. Romualdez, Manuel Jose “Mannix” M. Dalipe, Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos, Jude A. Acidre, Joey Sarte Salceda, Edwin L. Olivarez, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Michael L. Romero, Bernadette “BH” Herrera, Raul “Boboy” C. Tupas, Khymer Adan T. Olaso, Patrick Michael D. Vargas, Ambrosio C. Cruz Jr., Ralph G. Recto, Ron P. Salo, Keith Micah “Atty. Mike” D.L. Tan, Wilbert T. Lee, Alfredo D. Marañon III, Juan Carlos “Arjo” C. Atayde, Rosanna “Ria” V. Vergara, Harris Christopher M. Ongchuan, Joseph Stephen “Caraps” S. Paduano, Rufus B. Rodriguez, Wilter Y. Palma, Antonieta R. Eudela, Jaime R. Fresdeni, Ruth Mariano-Hernandez, Kristine Singson-Meehan, Lorenz R. Defensor, Jonathan Keith T. Flores, Paolo Z. Duterte, Eric Go Yap, Noel “Bong” N. Rivera, Florida “Rida” P. Robes, Richard I. Gomez DPA, Edvic G. Yap, Jocelyn P. Tulfo, Jeffrey Soriano, Gus S. Tambunting, Ralph Wendel P. Tulfo, Shernee A. Tan-Tambut, Linabelle Ruth R. Villarica, Jurdin Jesus M. Romualdo, Lex Anthony Cris A. Colado, Jefferson F. Khonghun, Princess Rihan M. Sakaluran, JC Abalos, Midy N. Cua, Christopherson “Coco” M. Yap, Charisse Anne C. Hernandez, Carl Nicolas C. Cari, Maria Carmen S. Zamora, Carlito S. Marquez, Ramon Jolo B. Revilla III, Bai Dimple I. Mastura, Dimszar M. Sali, David “Jay-jay” C. Suarez, Mario Vittorio “Marvey” A. Mariño, Luis Raymund “Lray” F. Villafuerte Jr., Laarni Lavin Roque, Emigdio P. Tanjuatco III, Francisco Paolo P. Ortega V, Carmelo “Jon” B. Lazatin II, Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” R. Luistro, Joseph Gilbert F. Violago, Antonio “Tonypet” T. Albano, John Tracy F. Cagas, Divina Grace C. Yu, Faustino “Inno” A. Dy V, Jeyzel Victoria C. Yu, Jose “Bong” Jr. J. Teves, Rudys Caesar I G. Fariñas, Ivan Howard A. Guintu, Reynante U. Arrogancia, Gabriel H. Bordado Jr., Leody “Odie” F. Tarriela, Lordan G. Suan, Ma. Rene Ann Lourdes G. Matibag, Ching B. Bernos, Arthur F. Celeste, Raul Angelo “Jil” D. Bongalon, Rachel Marguerite B. Del Mar, Brian Raymund S. Yamsuan, Julienne “Jam” Baronda, Mary Mitzi L. Cajayon-Uy, Josephine Veronique “Jaye” R. Lacson-Noel, Edsel A. Galeos, Faustino Michael Carlos T. Dy III, Margarita “Atty. Migs” B. Nograles, Wowo Fortes, Aurelio “Dong” Jr. D. Gonzales, Miguel Luis R. Villafuerte, Steve Chiongbian Solon, Marlyn “Len” B. Alonte, Sandro L. Gonzales, Jose Manuel F. Alba, Romeo S. Momo Sr., Jose C. Alvarez, Joseph S. Tan, Loreto B. Acaharon, Maria Angela S. Garcia, Teodorico T. Haresco, Jr., Ricardo S. Cruz, Jr., Arnan C. Panaligan, Salvador A. Pleyto, Augustina Dominique “Ditse Tina” C. Pancho, Alfonso V. Umali, Jr., Alfelito “Alfel” M. Bascug, Eulogio R. Rodriguez, Yevgeny Vincente B. Emano, Eduardo Roa Rama Jr., Ma. Cynthia K. Chan, Celso G. Regencia, Ruwel Peter Gonzaga, Ma. Victoria Co-Pilar, Elizaldy S. Co, Stella Luz A. Quimbo, Ronald V. Singson, Fernando T. Cabredo, Roy M. Loyola, Edgar M. Chatto, Edward Vera Perez Maceda, Sittie Aminah Q. Dimaporo, Sergio C. Dagooc, Danny A. Domingo, Peter B. Miguel, Samier A. Tan, and Eleanor C. Bulut-Begtang.
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