Puno: No need for new law to manage Phl watersheds

NORZAGARAY, Bulacan, Philippines  – There is no need for a new law to manage watersheds in the country, former chief justice Reynato Puno said during a visit here this week.

“There is no need for an act of Congress, It is better for the agencies involved in watershed management to smoothen conflicts in jurisdiction,” said Puno, legal adviser of the newly formed Task Force Five Watersheds of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS). 

Puno said his job is focused on watershed management and to help agencies consolidate overlapping laws and jurisdictions on forest protection and management. The Umiray, Angat, Ipo, La Mesa and Marikina watersheds are under the task force’s jurisdiction.

Puno said he is consolidating the functions of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agrarian Reform, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and MWSS in line with the directive of President Aquino to ensure water security through the reforestation and protection of the watersheds.

Puno said he is working on the legal framework of an Integrated Watershed Management System that would integrate the efforts of MWSS concessionaires – Manila Water Corp. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. – with non-government organizations involved in watershed protection and conservation. 

“In the next six months, I will review laws that define the power and jurisdiction of concerned agencies along with their implementing rules and regulations. Then we will come up with an agreement that will accommodate their interests,” he said. 

“The right to life is a basic human right, and we need water to survive, that’s why water is already a matter of obligation of the state. If there is no water, the right to life will be negated,” he added. 

Puno said the country’s water supply is threatened by disasters and the shortage of water can impact on national security.