No water supply shortage this year, DENR assures Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — The country will not be experiencing any water shortages this year, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu has assured President Rodrigo Duterte as the dry season approaches.

According to Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo, the government’s outlook and action plan in preparation for summer were among those discussed during Monday night’s Cabinet meeting in Malacañang.

Panelo said Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu recently visited the Angat Dam in Bulacan province to check on its water level. Angat Dam supplies more than 97 percent of Metro Manila’s total water supply requirement.

Panelo added that Cimatu “assured the President that we will have enough water for the year.”

Last March 2019, Metro Manila suffered the worst water crisis in years, leaving families to wait for hours just to get their daily water supply from tanker trucks as Angat Dam’s water level dipped.

Panelo added that the highly-contested China-funded Kaliwa Dam is scheduled to break ground by July or August this year.

The controversial dam project, which involves the construction of an integrated reservoir bordering Rizal and Quezon provinces using funding from China, has been long delayed. Once operational, Kaliwa Dam will augment Metro Manila’s water supply from the Angat Dam.

Edited by MUF