BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Saturday, February 29, 2020

Richard Malihan photo Gov Eugenio Jose Lacson with former Rep.Alfredo Benitez (left) during the Negros Water Summit at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City.*

Negros Occidental Provincial Consultant on Economic Affairs Alfredo Benitez yesterday said they are not relying solely on concerned government agencies to address the water scarcity in the years to come, the provincial government is taking a lead role.

“It is very clear that we cannot stand still. I think the province should have an active role, and be the lead actor, to manage the water resource”, Benitez said.

That is why, he added, we are thinking of a Provincial Water Council that will give the direction on the “gaps and shortfalls” of other national and local agencies, in respect to water management.

The two-day Negros Water Summit, organized by the provincial government of Negros Occidental, ended yesterday, with participants issuing a pledge of commitment to honor their pledges in recognizing the valuable resource, that is now increasingly under threat because of exploitation, degradation of water sources and watersheds.

With the Department of Environment and Natural Resources facing lack of funds, manpower and capacity in fully addressing water concerns, Benitez said we should not leave it to DENR alone to protect the water resources of the province.

Negrenses will be on the losing end and will suffer in the near future, if the province and local government units will not do anything about it, although the responsibility is with DENR, he added.

So, he stressed, the province should take a bigger role, and collaborate with the national agencies, to be sure it has the proper management system.

He suggested that the national government and LGUs have some sort of agreement on how to “collaborate”, and for partnership with other stakeholders, such as non-government organizations and the private sector.

“The keyword of collaboration should be threshed out, so that we do not suffer from the inaction of certain people, as far as what has to be done”. Benitez said.

He said the holding of the Negros Water Summit is the first step in taking action on the expected shortage of water resources.

After the summit, Benitez said he will integrate all pockets of different agencies and departments handling water system, and he is also coordinating with consultants of the ADB (Asian Development Bank), to come up with a clear road map.

“Once defined, we will create a very feasible execution plan, and for this I will hold the province responsible to make sure of execution,” he added.

Local government executives, representatives of government agencies, and members of civil society, who attended the two-day water summit, also pledged their commitment to pursue the necessary reforms in national and local policy and programming, and strengthen investments to ensure sufficient, safe and affordable water for all Negrosanons.*