Duterte demands release of water from Angat Dam

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS)  “to demand” from Manila Water the release of water supply from Angat Dam, Malacañang said Friday.

Duterte issued the order amid the water supply shortage that has been gripping parts of Metro Manila and nearby areas for more than a week now.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the MWSS was asked to demand the release of water from Angat Dam “by noon time today, March 15, good for 150 days, in order to supply the affected areas in Metro Manila and deliver, as well as distribute sufficient water to the residents thereof.”

Failure to comply will prompt Duterte to personally “make the responsible officers account for such failure,” Panelo noted.

MWSS is the government agency that is in charge of water privatization in Metro Manila. It is responsible for splitting the water concession into an east and a west concessionaire.

Manila Water, the east zone concessionaire affected by the shortage, has slashed its supply in several areas as the water level in La Mesa Dam continues to drop.

READ: La Mesa Dam breaches critical mark, hits 21-year low

Meanwhile, water levels in Angat Dam, the main water source of Metro Manila, are still reportedly within the normal range.

Angat Dam, which is located in Norzagaray, Bulacan, supplies about 96 percent of Metro Manila’s water needs.

It is connected to the La Mesa water reservoir in Quezon City, which is now at the lowest water level in 21 years. /je