LWUA chief asks congress to pass Water Act amendments
Administrator Lorenzo H. Jamora of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) today appealed to Congress to prioritize the passage of proposed amendments to Presidential Decree No. 198 or the LWUA charter to save innocent residents in the provinces from dying of cholera for drinking unsafe water from shallow dug wells and contaminated sources.
Jamora made the appeal even as he also asked the board directors and general managers of over 500 water districts, who are holding their 27th national convention, to join LWUA in working for the speedy passage of the proposed amendments/
The LWUA administrator disclosed that the changes sought by the agency are embodied in Senate Bill No. 2165 and House Bill No. 4950 sponsored respectively by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and Rep. Eric Singson. He added that the changes include and increase in its capitalization and borrowing authority from P2.5 billion to 10 billion.
He explained to local media in a conference held at Hotel Del Rio that other changes being sought from Congress include exemption for water districts, from payment of taxes for at least five years, exemption from the Salary Standardization Law among others.
Jamora pointed out that the 32-year old charter needs some amendments to enable LWUA to respond to the need to expand and modernize existing water district facilities and to establish water systems in towns where there are no water districts. He declared that there are more than 500 municipalities around the country, some situated within the 100 kilometers radius from Metro Manila, that still do not have reliable and safe potable water systems.
The LWUA Administrator warned that the national government won't be able to provide supply of safe and potable water in all barangays by the year 2010 as mandated in the ten-point agenda of Pres. Arroyo if LWUA will be tied to restrictions and limitations.
Jamora also took the opportunity to thank the Philippine Association of Water Districts (PAWD) for being the first groups to call on Pres. Arroyo to transfer to LWUA all types of provincial waterworks projects to ensure work quality and proper maintenance.
Aside from PAWD, Nueva Ecija Gov. Tomas Joson III, Executive Vice President of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), also expressed support to the move to transfer levels 1 and 2 water systems from other government agencies to LWUA to make these systems sustainable.