President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Photo grab from RTV Malacañang)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said that under the Bagong Pilipinas, the government must anticipate problems rather than allow itself to be caught off guard.
Bagong Pilipinas is the Marcos administration’s brand of governance and leadership, contained in Memorandum Circular No. 24 which was signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersmain last year on behalf of the president.
During the inauguration of the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project, Marcos said water projects are integral to addressing water scarcity.
Such problems, Marcos said, require foresight, planning, action, and political will.
“Any disruption to the water supply, such as the warmth posed by the El Niño phenomenon, which we are feeling the effects of now, degrades our quality of life, it dampens our economic activity and can fuel disorder,” said Marcos in his speech.
“Anticipating problems instead of letting them catch us by surprise is how we approach these challenges in the Bagong Pilipinas. We prepare for contingencies, resolve problems, and diffuse potential crises before they occur,” added Marcos.
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The water supply project was made in cooperation with Aboitiz InfraCapital.
During the inauguration, the president said the government had shifted its policy from getting groundwater to relying more on surface-level water sources.
“The Davao City Bulk Water Supply project is also a concrete step for us to lessen our reliance on limited groundwater by tapping the Tamugan River as a sustainable water source,” he said.