Duterte appeals for urgent action on water issues
President Rodrigo Duterte (MALACAÑANG PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has called for bolder vision and urgent action to address water-related issues confronting the Asia-Pacific region, saying countries have to decide wisely for the benefit of current and future generations.
“[N]ow is the time for bolder vision and urgent action. We need to decide wisely for ourselves and for future generations,” the President said on Saturday in his video message during the Heads of States and Government Meeting at the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit in Kumamoto City, Japan.
As a resource that is vital to humans and ecosystems for survival and sustenance, access to water and its related services is rightly considered a basic human right, Duterte added.
“This requires an urgent sense of community action in the region, an integrated and coherent policy, and the resolve to create opportunities for investment and collaboration for technological solutions,” the president said.
—JEROME ANING
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