Osmeña pushes plan for water security

Following the water supply interruptions that affected parts of Metro Manila and Rizal province, senatorial candidate Serge Osmeña is proposing a four-point plan for a secure water supply.

“Water is most essential to personal and community life. We don’t only need it for ourselves to drink, to bathe, to cook, to clean, but to be able to provide hygienic services and nourishment to others. We must therefore take steps to ensure that Filipinos are never again denied access to this basic human right,” he said in a statement yesterday. “We must protect the dignity of our water.”

The former senator said companies and agencies that own the rights to draw water from rivers and lakes must not be allowed to squander them. They must utilize them efficiently, or turn the rights over to another organization that will.

He also said developers must secure a water source for new projects. Osmeña cited that several firms want to reclaim Manila Bay but none have proposed where the water to supply hundreds of new hectares of land will come from.

“Developers should not be able to break ground until they establish where the water will be sourced,” Osmeña said.

Water utilities must be required to invest in new water sources, he added, noting that Manila Water’s new Laguna treatment plant is set to go live later this month.

“Companies should aggressively make these investments, so as to prevent crises and not merely serve as a band-aid to them,” Osmeña said.

The government must provide loans and grants or enact legislation that encourages private investment in water recycling and rain capture infrastructure, he said.