Advocacy group Water for the People Network (WPN) criticized the creation of a Water Resource Management Office (WRMO), stating that the formation of this office would only allow the government to transfer the management of water resources in the country to the private sector amid a looming water crisis. 

This follows the Marcos administration’s plan to create the office to address the so-called water crisis threatening the country due to limited supply and the looming El Niño. WRMO’s establishment through the recently signed Executive Order also serves as an avenue to the creation of the Department of Water, in line with the plans of the current administration.

In a statement, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Administrator Leonor Cleofas clarified that the president’s statement referred to the nationwide level, as the water situation in Manila is more manageable. 

“The water crisis is more of a problem in water management,” said Xandra Casambre Bisenio, head of the WPN secretariat. “[Water] is not being managed efficiently so that the people will have their rightful share of water for their drinking, domestic use, production needs in agriculture and fishing.”

In the country, 37.3 percent of water supply is allocated for household use, 22.3 percent for mining and quarrying, manufacturing and construction, 6.4 percent for agriculture, forestry and fishing, and 34 percent for other services, as revealed in the 2022 water accounts publication by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Even with this allocation, however, a Social Weather Stations survey in December 2022 reported that only 67 percent of Filipino households have access to running water, which translates to 17 out of 25 million households.

Among the top providers of water in the country are Maynilad and Manila Water, both of which are privately owned. Provincial water districts have also entered into joint venture agreements with private water companies, such as in the case of the Lubao Water District which transferred its everyday operations to the Villar-owned Primewater Infrastructure Corp.

While the country also faces the annual effects of El Niño, it consequently also urges companies to provide enough water supply during the driest months of the year. Unfortunately, with this increasing demand, so does the number of rotational water interruptions across regions.

Just this month, parts of southern Metro Manila and Cavite experienced water cut-offs because one of the water treatment plants controlled by Maynilad underwent repair. In Baguio, the city’s Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office also issued a warning to its constituents in anticipation of a water crisis for the next two months.

The Angat Dam is responsible for supplying more than 90 percent of Metro Manila’s potable water, and its water levels were last measured at 199.76 meters. Being 10.56 meters above its minimum operating level of 180 meters, the National Water Resources Board and the MWSS assured that the current water supply is sufficient for Metro Manila residents and those living in nearby provinces until December.

Research group Ibon Foundation noted that with the establishment of the WRMO, further collaboration with the private sector over the management of the country’s water supply would lead to higher water rates and poorer service in supply and sanitation.

As a solution to the country’s water management problem, Bisenio explained that the government should revert the management of water facilities back to local government units, as well as to explore other genuine water reform alternatives.

“The Philippines is no stranger to good practices in water management,” Bisenio said. “Local water districts used to be run by local engineers and scientists, and they were able to build their own facilities and maintain them. Locals then enjoyed decent and reasonable water rates, as well as clean and potable water.”

Returning the management of water facilities back to local government units is also a measure pushed by the United Nations under its sixth sustainable development goal: to ensure access to water and sanitation for all.

“By returning the water facilities into local cooperatives and management, as many people can then work on delivering water services in a service oriented way,” said Bisenio.

Waterroam, an international water advocacy group, encouraged governments to construct desalination plants for the country’s abundant supply of seawater to be filtered into clean and potable water. A sewage and solid waste treatment plant is on the works under the initiative of El Nido’s local government, which will be able to filter more clean water supply.

Ibon also encouraged the government to engage in genuine public participation when it comes to water resource management.

“People’s control over people’s resources,” Bisenio emphasized. “This way, many people can work on delivering the service in a service oriented way and not just for profit, which is what the country needs.” ●