by Donald Sevilla
“THE WAY OF WATER “
Water is a very precious resource we can’t do without. It plays a significant role for our survival and is one of the primordial considerations in mankind’s search for habitable planets outside earth.
Being so valuable, water is not meant to be appropriated solely for personal gain or corporate profit. It should be made reasonably available for all, not to be monopolized by any one individual or entity.
While many are salivating who gets access and control over it, it is the duty of our public servants to protect the people’s interest.They must see to it that everyone has access to drinking water and won’t be deprived.
Yet it is everyone’s lookout to keep this natural resource sustainable. We must see to it that our future generations can still enjoy the fruits of our conservation efforts as we must ensure that our aquifers don’t dry up and they survive droughts.
These said, we must not allow our water resources to become tools of oppression and exploitation. While it is laudable to develop water reserves and fill the gap left by government’s failure to provide basic service, it is never okay to leave things in the hands of monopolies. We must never let business take over and dictate its course.
Yet very much like land banking, enterprising businesses gobble water rights faster than they can develop. They accumulate as many rights as they can over identified water sources and hold on to it until an ideal partner or investor comes along making for themselves a lot of money.
In so doing the public welfare is jeopardized and held hostage by these speculators. People fall victim to their enterprising schemes by paying higher prices for water consumption way more than they would if it were a public entity running it.
This is the downside to having private enterprises run the show however efficient they may be. While there is always a price to pay, having government or a public entity in the loop is keeping the balance and does not allow for these businesses to do as they please.
True public servants know this and will fight for the people’s welfare. Thus we have the town of Balilihan battling it out with a rich and powerful corporation over its intention to develop its water assets.
But let us always remember that water should be made available for all. Managing it should be oriented towards public service rather than profit. This is the way it should be. This is the way of water!