Senate to probe water shortage in Metro Manila, Rizal
MANILA, Philippines — As Metro Manila and Rizal province continue to experience water service interruptions, the Senate committee on public services is set to hold an inquiry into the matter.
Sen. Grace Poe, who heads the concerned Senate panel, said a hearing on the water crisis in the country would be held next Tuesday at 10 a.m.
"What we are seeing now is not normal and something that our households and farmers do not deserve," Poe said in a statement released Wednesday.
Officials of concerned agencies, heads of water concessionaires, regulators and concerned stakeholders are expected to attend the hearing to give light on the water shortage.
The re-electionist senatorial candidate stressed the importance of the attendance of the officials so that together with the Senate, they can come up with solutions to the water crisis.
"We also need to hear the current mitigating measures planned by the agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture, given the importance of our agricultural sector to the economy," the senator said.
Manila Water, meanwhile, will implement a new water service interruption schedule starting Thursday.
All areas under the east concession zone would experience six to 18 hours without water, Manila Water corporate communications Jeric Sevilla said.
"That will be the schedule every day all throughout the summer until we get additional supply or the level of La Mesa Dam gets better," Sevilla told radio dzMM Wednesday morning.
The Ayala-led water concessionaire mainly sources its water from Angat Dam. The company had explained that it had already maximized its water allocation from Angat Dam, which is 1,600 million liters a day (MLD) as the demand had reached 1,700 MLD.
Manila Water gets its reserve supply of 80 to 100 MLD from La Mesa Dam, which is now below the critical level.
West zone concessionaire Maynilad has vowed to provide additional supply to Manila Water to ease the water shortage in Metro Manila and nearby areas by April.
Maynilad will be sharing 50 MLD to Manila Water, which will benefit up to 50,000 households in Quezon City, Parañaque City and Taguig City.
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