ECCP supports creation of WRMO

MANILA, Philippines — The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) welcomed the creation of the Water Resources Management Office (WRMO), saying this is the first step to fully realizing the goal of achieving water security for the country.

In a statement yesterday, the ECCP expressed support for President Marcos’ move to approve the proposal to establish the WRMO under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), as a transitory body pending the creation of a Water Resource Department.

“In line with our long-standing advocacy of attaining water security in the Philippines, the chamber has long called for the creation of an apex body to lead the crafting and implementation of policies and initiatives for the Philippine water sector, as well as streamline institutions to further facilitate ease of doing business in the said sector,”the ECCP said.

It explained that the agency is envisioned to lay down the overarching policies and perform functions relative to the integrated management of water resources with the end goal of achieving water security for the country.

“The creation of the WRMO is a welcome first step in fully realizing this as it aims to strengthen collaboration among various agencies in implementing water management programs in accordance with the Integrated Water Management Plan to be crafted by the said agency,” the ECCP said.

The group stressed the need to approach water resource planning using Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM).

The IWRM is an internationally recognized framework that is used to guide countries on their journey to water security.

It is based on the idea that water issues should not be approached in isolation, but rather in a more holistic manner due to the interdependence of the uses of finite water resources.

“We remain committed to working with the government and other stakeholders in resolving the current water-related issues in the country,”the ECCP said.

The ECCP, together with its environment and water committee, strongly advocates for regular multi-stakeholder engagements to be institutionalized in order to allow exchange of insights, facilitate coordination and come up with effective solutions on water-related issues.

“In this light, we highly encourage that a multistakeholder advisory panel be established under the WRMO with representation from the private sector, academe and civil society to serve as an additional soundboard for the said office in the crafting and implementation of policies, programs and projects for the water sector in line with IWRM’s principle of participatory governance,” the group said.

It said this interim structural reform would hopefully provide more synergy with public-private partnerships as it leads and encourages the establishment of investments, technology, benchmarking, and sharing of best practices resulting in the improvement of the water sector and for the benefit of the people.

“The chamber will continue to monitor the developments on the creation of the WRMO and we look forward to learning more information about the office to see how we can work together to achieve our shared advocacy,” the ECCP said.

The group reiterated its call to finally legislate an overseeing body for the said sector which has long been overdue.

“We believe that having an executive water department tasked to harmonize and monitor all water-related efforts will provide strategic direction which would not only help in solving water scarcity in the country, but would also aid in the establishment and operation of businesses as well as attract new investors,” the ECCP said.

“We hope that the current interest from the government will be sustained and bring the much-needed changes in the water sector into fruition,” it added.