With just barely two months to go before the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) elections, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) urges aspiring candidates to prioritize water programs in their platform agenda for their respective barangays.
DILG OIC Secretary Eduardo M. Año said that water is a basic necessity and as wannabe leaders in their respective communities, barangay and SK candidates are faced with the great challenge of ensuring that all their constituents have easy access to safe and potable water.
“Water is life and more than just quenching our thirst, it is one of the vital building blocks in nation building particularly in creating jobs and in supporting the human, social, and economic development,”Año said.
The DILG Chief made the call in time for the celebration of World Water Day on March 22 this year.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) has designated the World Water Day (WDD) on March 22 as an international day to ensure availability and ensure sustainable management of water and sanitation by 2030 as part of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 6. This year’s WWD theme is “Nature for Water.”
World Water Day 2018
Año said that the Department is now in the thick of preparations for the upcoming WWD 2018 with the hope to raise awareness and make the general public understand the importance of conserving nature for more abundant potable water supply.
He said that the Department has been actively participating in the series of inter-agency meetings headed by the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to discuss about the series of collaborative activities during the weeklong WWD celebration on March 15-23.
The DILG is one of the national government agencies involved in the water sector with the implementation of potable water supply projects in the countryside like the Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig (SALINTUBIG), Assistance to Municipalities (AM)- Potable Water Supply Projects, and Pro-Water, a Spanish-funded program under the iWash Governance.
“The DILG joins the United Nations and the entire Philippine government in advocating nature-based solutions that can potentially solve the water crisis we are facing like flood, drought, water pollution, diminishing and limited access to potable water supply,” Año said.
Water Forum
The DILG Chief said that during the series of inter-agency technical working group (TWG) meetings, several activities have been mapped out to be conducted during the weeklong WWD celebration like water forum for college students, nature walk, sungka tournament, and awarding ceremony for individuals, groups, or projects who are water advocates.
“We fervently hope that through the series of WWD activities to be conducted nationwide, our Filipino people will take a more proactive action towards better care of our nature and our water resources,”Año said.
Aside from the DILG and DENR, other TWG partners are Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), Climate Change Commission (CCC), Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), Maynilad Water Services, Inc., Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), The Manila Water Company, Inc., National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands, Inc. (SCPW), National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), and National Water Resources Board (NWRB).
