WRMO to present El Niño plan

MANILA, Philippines — The Water Resources Management Office (WRMO) will present this week its recommendations to mitigate the impact of El Niño in the Philippines.

“We will have a plan for the mitigation of the effects of El Niño this week. I just spoke to the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources this morning and she has told me that she will be prepared to make public what needs to be done,” President Marcos said during a meeting at Malacañang, referring to Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga.

“We are designing now a system of catchment basins not only for flood control. The original plan was only for flood control. But... flood control always now includes irrigation and sometimes even power, if we can do it,” he added.

The National Irrigation Administration has a design for existing dams to ensure continuous water supply for agricultural use, Marcos said.

He also tapped former public works secretary Rogelio Singson to craft a contingency plan for the dry spell.

The President issued Memorandum Circular 22 on June 7, directing all government agencies to strictly implement water conservation measures to avert possible water crises due to El Niño.

Meanwhile, Environment Undersecretary Carlos David revealed on July 10 that some government agencies have incurred P10 million to P17 million water bills due to “leaks.”

“We did a study together with Manila Water and Maynilad… There are government facilities that have a P10-million bill per month or P17 million and even small offices have a P1 million per month water consumption bill,” David said in a television interview.

“There are leaks after the meter and this is really not the responsibility of the concessioners,” he added.

The WRMO has directed government building managers to monitor their monthly consumption, he added.