B.

Challenges the Philippines are facing now and in future

Philippines' water and sanitation crisis. Out of 105 million people living in the Philippines,
nearly seven million rely on unsafe and unsustainable water sources and 24 million lack access
to improved sanitation. Despite its growing economy, the Philippines faces significant challenges
in terms of water and sanitation access. The country is rapidly urbanizing, and its growing cities
struggle to provide new residents with adequate water and sanitation services. In 2010, the
government of the Philippines developed a road map to achieve universal water and sanitation
services coverage by 2028. Water.org is working to support this goal. In the Philippines and
around the world, people are navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, and millions are striving to
endure this crisis with an added challenge. They lack access to life’s most critical resource –
water. Now more than ever access to safe water is critical to the health of families in the
Philippines.

Philippines:
7 million Lack access to safe water
Population of 105 million
7 million people lack access to safe water
24 million people lack access to improved sanitation

Water shortage in the Philippines threatens sustainable development and health. Everyone,
everywhere has the right to water. Unfortunately, billions of people around the world have no
access to safely managed drinking water, defined as water that is accessible on premises,
available when needed and free from contamination. In the Philippines, around 1 in 10 people
still do not have access to improved water sources. Water-related advocacy such as World Water
Day, celebrated every 22 March, is crucial in bringing global attention to the importance of
water. This year’s World Water Day theme is ‘Leaving no one behind’. “Water is an extremely
important resource that we cannot live without. But there are Filipinos who are still being left
behind in terms of access to improved water sources, especially in rural communities,” said Dr
Gundo Weiler, WHO Representative in the Philippines. In 2016, one of the top 10 leading causes
of death in the Philippines was acute watery diarrhoea, claiming over 139 000 lives. The
situation could worsen as the country is beset by the El Niño phenomenon and climate change
that contribute to increase in temperature, drying up our water sources. The recent water shortage
in Metro Manila also highlights the uncertainty of water access even in the nation’s capital.
Inadequate and intermittent water supply in Metro Manila and in other parts of the country can
have serious health consequences. When water is scarce, people are often forced to rely on
drinking water sources that may not be safe. They may also lack sufficient water for basic
hygiene - to wash themselves and their clothes, and to prevent infection including from
foodborne and waterborne diseases. Low or negative water pressure in pipes due to short supply
can attract contaminants that will put water quality at risk when the supply is restored. In
addition, limited supply obliges people to store more water. If not handled properly, this will
provide more opportunity for mosquitoes to breed and consequently increase the cases of
mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue fever. “Individuals can contribute in their own ways to
protect their health from the impact of scarce water resources by conserving and recycling water,
making sure the water they drink is safe, and covering water containers to protect against
contamination and vectors,” said Engr Bonifacio Magtibay, environmental health technical
officer in WHO Philippines. While individual contributions are vital, governments still have the
obligation to provide safe and reliable drinking water sources to people through long-term
solutions. As it stands, too much reliance on surface water such as rivers and lakes as well as
groundwater will not be sustainable in the future due to the climate reality and increasing water
demand from the population. The World Health Organization is working with the Philippines
Department of Health and other sector agencies to ensure safe water for all through the
development and implementation of water safety planning, strengthening systems and capacity
for drinking-water quality surveillance and monitoring, and improvement of water, sanitation,
and hygiene in health care facilities.

Lack of water allocation formula. Most of the problems encountered in the water sector today
arise from an issue of conflicts of use and water allocation. With the increase of population
coupled with worsening pollution of water, lack of infrastructure and facilities and dry spell
causing water shortages regularly in many areas resulting in allocation issues and conflicting
rights over the limited water supply. The principle in the Water Code of "first in time priority in
right" may no longer be an equitable approach in resolving such conflicts. Current allocation
procedure is insufficient to cover all aspect of water allocation such as economic aspect. In view
of the growing scarcity of the country’s water resources and the felt need for effective measures
to resolve water shortages and improve water use, consideration of an alternative approach using
a system of tradable water rights has been advocated. The institution of a tradable water rights
regime requires the establishment of a secure property right to water. Under such regime, the
water rights should be sold freely at negotiated prices to any one for any purpose. However, the
Water Code imposes restrictions, which essentially weakens the property right associated with
the water right. While the lease or transfer of water rights is explicitly allowed by the Code, such
lease or transfer is restricted for the same beneficial purpose for which the water rights is granted
as required under Article 12 of the Code. Although the potential advantages of promoting water
markets have been recognized, the necessary cultural, legal and institutional elements are not yet
in place.

Limited water resources and their spatial and temporal distribution. Although the
Philippines is endowed with abundant water resources, the distribution of these resources varies
widely in time and place as result of the different geographic and climate conditions prevailing in
different pats of the country. Several factors and processes affect local and regional water
resources. Human activities, in particular, influence the hydrologic cycle through change of
water and land use. In recent years, the issue of climate change due to human activities posed a
major concern to water managers, planners and policy makers. The climate change has occurred
because the present water management practices are mainly based on semi-stationary
geophysical processes with inadequate consideration being given to increasing demands owing
to population and land use changes.

Inefficient water use. A major concern at present is not only water scarcity but also inefficient
management of existing projects. Most of the existing water supply projects are inadequately
managed, as characterized by low service efficiency resulting in supply deficiencies to meet the
water demand. In addition, tremendous waste of water in distribution lines, irrigation canals and
at homes. Inefficiency in water usage was exacerbated by the absence of regulations, economic
incentives and institutional arrangements needed to promote water conservation and rational use
of water.

Water pollution. Although water resources have become scarce in some regions and seasons,
the Philippines as a whole has more than enough surface and groundwater. However, neglecting
to have a coherent environmental policy has led to the contamination of 58% of the groundwater
in the Philippines. The main source of pollution is untreated domestic and industrial
wastewater. Only one third of Philippine river systems are considered suitable for public water
supply.
It is estimated that in 2025, water availability will be marginal in most major cities and in
8 of the 19 major river basins. Besides severe health concerns, water pollution also leads to
problems in the fishing and tourism industries. The national government recognized the problem
and since 2004 has sought to introduce sustainable water resources development management
(see below).
Only 5% of the total population is connected to a sewer network. The vast majority uses
flush toilets connected to septic tanks. Since sludge treatment and disposal facilities are rare,
most effluents are discharged without treatment. According to the Asian Development Bank,
the Pasig River is one of the world's most polluted rivers. In March 2008, Manila
Water announced that a wastewater treatment plant will be constructed in Taguig. The first
Philippine constructed wetland serving about 700 households was completed in 2006 in a peri-
urban area of Bayawan City which has been used to resettle families that lived along the coast in
informal settlements and had no access to safe water supply and sanitation facilities.

Fragmented management. One of the most critical issues confronting the Philippine water
sector is the lack of an appropriate institutional framework to address issues of development and
management of water and related resources. At present, there are over 30 government agencies
and departments separately dealing with water supply, irrigation, hydropower, flood control,
pollution, watershed management, etc. It is this fragmented approach to water management
bringing about an overlap of work and conflicts among agencies that result in fractional water
management plan that does not adequately meet the requirements for sustainability. Many
projects are being implemented in many cases without considering the interactions between
hydrological and economic system, thus, resulting in inefficient resource use, economic and
social losses, and environmental degradation. Despite the promulgation of the Water Code and
the creation of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) in 1974 to coordinate the activities
of water resources agencies, the goal of integrated water resources management.

C. Policies and Programs created or implemented to address challenges/problems in water

The Philippines has an extensive body of water and water-related legislations that provide
the legal bases for policies and regulations concerning water resource management in the
country. These include the Water Code of 1976, Revised Forestry Code of 1975, Provincial
Water Utilities Act of 1973, and the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992,
among others (Annex 1). However, many of these laws are considered to be ad hoc and limited
in coverage, and only constitute “a partial [and] implicit framework” that fail to integrate key
areas of water resource management (Bautista and Tan, 2003). It must also be noted that many of
these laws are outdated in terms of appropriate policies for water resource management and
economic pricing.

Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973 (PD 198)

Declaring a national policy favoring local operation and control of water systems;
authorizing the formation of local water districts and providing for the government and
administration of such districts; chartering a national administration to facilitate improvement of
local water utilities; granting said administration such powers as are necessary to optimize public
service from water utility operations, and for other purposes.

Clean Water Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9275).

The Philippines passed the Clean Water Act of 2004 to help prevent further pollution of
natural clean water sources. Through these reforms, the Filipino government attempted to create
a sense of accountability within the region by levying fines on polluters. Severity of the fine is
dependent on the type of pollutant found—such as organic, inorganic, and stock pollutants—as
well as the classification of the body of water the pollution was found in, such as rivers, streams,
and so forth.38 The Clean Water Act leaves the responsibility of charging fines and executing
water guidelines to the local governments. However, private corporations may choose not to
adopt water-conscious practices despite consistently paying pollution fines. The accumulation of
pollution fines from lakes and rivers may equal a fraction of the cost of implementing proper
water treatment and disposal of water waste within a corporation. As long as the fines are less
expensive than proper disposal of pollutants, corporations will choose to continue to pollute.
Global organizations have offered aid to the Philippines, but government measures fail to prevent
the continuation of water pollution.
Philippine Environmental Code 1977 Waste Management Provision).
Established standards for air and water quality, and guidelines for land use, natural
resources, groundwater and waste management.

Executive Order No. 192 of 1987

To manage, conserve and develop forestlands; watersheds; and maintain water quality.

Republic Act No. 8041- National Water Crisis Act of 1995

To address the water crisis, including supply, finance, privatization of state-run water
facilities, protection and conservation of watersheds and the waste and pilferage of water.

IRR of NEDA Board Res. No. 4 of 1994

To set quality standards for water testing, treatment, and surveillance and sanitary
practices.

National Water Resources Board (NWRB) was created in 1974 as the authoritative national
organization to coordinate and integrate all activities in water resources development and
management. Its main objective is to achieve scientific and orderly development and
management of all the water resources of the Philippines consistent with the principles of
optimum usage, conservation and protection to meet present and future needs. The mantle of
authority of NWRB is derived from Presidential Decree (PD) 424 (NWRC Charter), PD 1067
(Water Code of the Philippines) and PD 1206 (Water Utilities).

Programs
 GoAL WaSH Philippines

Achieving the SDGs through the Integrated Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Approach –
iWaSH Governance.

GOALS
• Increase the number of households, schools and health centers with access to safe water,
sanitation and hygiene.
• Improve national and local policies on integrated safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

The Philippines is a signatory of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs. These are expressed
in the Philippine Development Plan 2017 – 2022, providing an opportunity to effectively sustain
the implementation of the integrated safe water, sanitation and hygiene (iWaSH) approach.
Through GoAL WaSH, there is an opportunity to institutionalize iWaSH in national policies
specifically in the water and sanitation roadmaps. The Regional Water and Sanitation Hubs
(RHubs), composed of partner state universities, water districts, non-government organizations
and civil society organizations, are organized to assist the local government units in
mainstreaming iWaSH in local plans and budgets. The RHubs are tasked to support the
government in preparing local government units and communities to develop local projects in
establishing, improving and expanding water and sanitation systems and facilities.

 Pro-WATER: Promoting Water and Sanitation Access, Integrity, Empowerment,

Rights and Resiliency

The proposed joint programme is a collaborative multi-sectoral action supported by the

Spanish Government in partnership with the UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, UN WOMEN together
with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health
(DOH), National Water Resources Board (NWRB) and the Philippine Commission on Women
(PCW); with selected Provincial and Municipal Governments, Civil Society Organizations,
Academia, Private Sector, community groups, and women and girls.
Aware of the current situation of fragmentation in implementing water, sanitation and
hygiene at the level of local governments, the joint programme will emphasize inter-agency
collaboration and complementation at all levels. Given this, the joint programme will bring about
3 major results:
1) Improved governance of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene at all levels especially at the local
levels.
2) Broadened access through improved solutions that are demonstrated in the implementation of
safe water, sanitation and hygiene that will benefit most especially women and girls in
households, schools, health centers and public spaces.
3) Generated knowledge utilized to aid policy advocacy, planning, capacity building based on
the experiences and lessons learned from the implementation of integrated safe water, sanitation
and hygiene.
The Integrated Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Systems Approach will be utilized as
the framework for implementing the joint programme. The framework ensures a coordinated,
harmonized approach to implementing safe water, sanitation and hygiene programmes at the
local level. To facilitate efficiently the realization of the intended results, the joint programme
will be implemented in three (3) components: Component
1. Improving Local Governance of Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Component
2. Demonstrating Solutions to Broaden Access to Safe Water Supply and Improve Sanitation and
Hygiene Component
3. Generating & Utilizing Knowledge on Safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
References
http://www.fao.org/3/ab776e/ab776e03.htm
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1973/05/25/presidential-decree-no-198-s-1973/
https://www.who.int/philippines/news/feature-stories/detail/water-shortage-in-the-
philippines-threatens-sustainable-development-and-health
https://water.org/our-impact/where-we-work/philippines/#:~:text=Philippines'%20water%20and
%20sanitation%20crisis&text=Despite%20its%20growing%20economy%2C%20the,adequate
%20water%20and%20sanitation%20services.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2016/10/10/supplements/philippines-hotspot-water-crisis/290528/
https://www.sdgfund.org/sites/default/files/SDG%20Fund%20-%20Philippines%20-%20PRO-
WATER_%20Promoting%20Water%20and%20Sanitation%20Access,%20Integrity,
%20Empowerment,%20Rights%20and%20Resiliency.pdf
https://aseaniwrm.water.gov.my/iwrm-in-philippines/#:~:text=Water%20pollution
%20management%20in%20the,pollution%20from%20land%2Dbased%20sources.
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.461.4098&rep=rep1&type=pdf&fbclid=IwAR02szVv8zKf0ptucO04vqehN_qx1-
MPqm87OO0_oTMEHFdCgxDhe2czUdM#page=17