Press Release - Co-Sponsorship Speech Sen. Joel Villanueva Senate Bill No. 2771 under Committee Report No. 281

Mr. President, my esteemed colleagues:

Good afternoon. I am proud to co-sponsor Senate Bill No. 2771 or the National Water Resources Management Act. Allow me to thank the good sponsor, Sen. Poe, for considering the bill filed by this representation in the Committee Report - Senate Bill No. 2013, Establishing the National Framework for Water Resource Management and Creating the Department of Water Resources and the Water Regulatory Commission.

It is a universal truth that water is life. Without water, life as we know it would be impossible. Humans can go for up to one or two months without food, but we can only survive for a few days without water. The United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights.

Without water security, particularly access to safe drinking water, the health, sanitation, and lives of our people are endangered. In 2016, about 4 billion people or almost two-thirds of the global population experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year.^[1]1.42 billion people in the world, a third of whom are children, live in areas of high or extremely high water vulnerability.^[2] In 2020, the UNICEF and the World Health Organization recorded that only 47.46% of the entire population in the Philippines had access to safely managed drinking water.^[3]

Without water security, we cannot attain food security because the entire agriculture sector depends on it. Ayon sa datos ng Department of Agriculture, tinatalang nasa P5.9 billion na ang pinsala ng matinding tagtuyot sa agrikultura.^[4] Ngayong taon, naglaan po tayo ng higit P70 bilyon na pondo para sa programang patubig ng gobyerno sa ilalim ng National Irrigation Administration.^[5] Umaasa po tayo na maibsan sana nito ang matinding pagsubok na hinaharap ng ating mga magsasaka lalo na sa mga apektadong probinsya.

Sino po ba ang makakalimot sa krisis sa tubig noong 2019, bago pa mag-pandemya? Sampung-libong kabahayan sa Metro Manila ang nawalan ng supply ng tubig. Dahil sa climate change, hindi malayong ganito ang haharapin nating hamon sa mga