EO sa paglikha ng water resources management office sa DENR, oks kay PBBM

TININTAHAN ni Pangulong  Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ang isang  executive order para sa pagtatayo ng  Water Resources Management Office (WRMO) sa Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) na naglalayong  pagsama-samahin  ang pagsisikap ng pamahalaan na tiyakin ang “availability at sustainable management” ng water resources sa bansa.

Sa ilalim ng  Executive Order No. 22, ang WRMO ay mandato na “ensure the immediate implementation of the Integrated Water Resources Management in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and formulate a corresponding Water Resources Master Plan (IWMP).”

Ginawa ang EO para tugunan ang mga  hamon na nakaapekto sa water resources management sa bansa, partikular na ang tumaas na demand  para sa tubig dahil sa populasyon at economic growth, epekto ng climate change at pandemiya,  kakulangan ng sapat na imprastraktura dahilan para magkaroon ng “uneven distribution” ng water resources, at iba pa.

“To avert water crisis, minimize and avoid conflicts, and consistent with the State’s sole ownership and control over the country’s water resources, it is imperative for the Government to integrate and harmonize the policies, programs, and projects of all relevant agencies in the water resource sector in the fulfillment of their complementary governmental mandates,” ang nakasaad sa EO.

Ang  WRMO ay may atas na “shepherd and champion, together with the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, the passage of a law creating an apex body such as the proposed Department of Water and/or a regulatory commission on water.”

“It is also directed to integrate into the IWMP the various plans of agencies, which include the Philippine Development Plan, the Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan, and the National Water Resources Board Security Master Plan,” ayon sa ulat.

Ang WRMO ay mayroong gampanin na “generate and maintain credible and timely water and sanitation data to aid in evidence-based policy-making, regulations, planning, and implementation.”

Samantala, ang  WRMO ay pamumunuan ng  isang  Undersecretary na itatalaga ni Pangulong Marcos batay na rin sa rekumendasyon ng DENR secretary.  (Daris Jose)