Govt agencies ordered to enforce water conservation measures amid El Ni?o threat

MALACA?ANG recently issued a Memorandum Circular ordering all government agencies to implement water conservation measures amid the threat of El Ni?o and its possible effects on the country.

Signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on June 7, 2023, MC 22 was issued “to avert a looming water crisis not just in Metro Manila, but in all other areas of the country experiencing water scarcity.”

The Palace likewise tasked the newly created Water Resources Management Office, directly under the supervision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to take the lead in the implementation of a nationwide water conservation program.

“All national government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned-or controlled corporations and state universities and colleges, are hereby directed to identify and implement specific, quantifiable, and attainable water conservation measures that will result in ten percent water volume reduction of their respective first quarter (January to March 2023) water consumption,” part of the circular read.

MC 22 also directed the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to submit a monthly supply-demand projection to determine if there will be shortage in the water supply in the future.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last April issued an executive order creating a “National El Ni?o Team” which will craft an action plan to be implemented by the different agencies to prepare for the projected adverse impacts to food, health, water, and energy security as well as public safety.