- EDITORIAL
Improving water governance
The Philippines is rich in water resources, yet as only 84% of Filipino families have access to basic sanitation services, the country still needs to catch up with other Southeast Asian countries regarding access to basic sanitation services. Access to these services is highest in Singapore (100%) followed by Malaysia (99.7%), Vietnam (96%), Brunei (94%), and Cambodia (88%), according to a policy paper published by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).
The figures may not initially alarm, with 84% of Filipino families having access to basic sanitation services. However, the stark reality is that this access is not evenly distributed across the country. The disparity in access to safe, affordable, and sustainable water and drinking water supply, and improved sanitation services is a cause for concern. The Central Visayas water resources region, which holds a mere 2 percent of the water resources, supports a staggering 7.4 percent of the national population.
Water quality is not just a challenge, it’s a potential health hazard. NEDA’s policy paper reveals that many Filipino households still rely on potentially unsafe water sources such as unprotected wells, undeveloped springs, rivers, ponds, lakes, rainwater, or purchased from tanker trucks and water peddlers. This is a situation that demands immediate attention and action.
NEDA observes that the institutional framework for water supply and sanitation in the Philippines needs to be more cohesive, hindering service delivery and resource protection. Government agencies with water resources mandates often have overlapping and conflicting mandates across multiple areas, such as water supply, sewerage, sanitation, irrigation, flood management, watershed management, coastal management, financing, policy formulation, and coordination.
NEDA calls for the creation of the Department of Water Resources (DWR). The establishment of DWR is not just a proposed solution, it’s a beacon of hope. The DWR is envisioned to be the primary agency responsible for the comprehensive and integrated identification and mapping of all water resources. It will also be the lead agency in the planning, policy formulation, management, appropriation, utilization, exploitation, development, and protection of water resources in the Philippines. With these coordinated efforts, the DWR will not just promote the optimal use of water resources in the Philippines, it will ensure the attainment of universal access to safe, adequate, affordable, and sustainable water supply, and improved sanitation services for all Filipinos.
Backed with sufficient powers granted by law, DWR is expected to resolve the bureaucratic mess in water governance. The United Nations has emphasized that a water or sanitation service only serves part of the community if it is too expensive, unreliable, unhygienic, unsafely located, unadapted for less able groups or children, or non-gender-segregated, in the case of toilets and washing. Our government must, therefore, ensure that water is not only available but, most of all, affordable to everyone, especially the poor.
(Sources: Policy Note of the Philippine Water Sector, https://neda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Policy-Note-on-the-Philippine-Water-Sector.pdf and https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/human-rights-water-and-sanitation)