Tuesday, 20 September 2011 01:42
Rep. Arnel Ty (Party-list, LPGMA), author of House Resolution 1573, said for the past 22 years after the signing of Republic Act 6716 on March 17, 1989, government has failed to effectively carry out the required installation of rainwater collectors in the barangays. Ty said the law mandates DPWH to undertake the construction of water wells, rainwater collectors, development of springs and rehabilitation of existing water wells in all barangays in the Philippines.
"If only the DPWH implemented the law, it could have helped to mitigate the calamitous consequences brought about by the excessive rainfall during the wet season, made more severe by climate change," Ty said.
According to Ty, climate change has made large parts of the country extremely vulnerable to excessive rainfall, which resulted in the loss of lives, extensive destruction of public infrastructure, private property and farm produce due to widespread flooding and landslides.
Ty said the persistent severe droughts threatened to wipe out farm harvests due to the critical lack of water supply for irrigation, which could have been avoided since the collected water could be used during the dry season.
"The aggressive and methodical installation of rainwater collectors is a viable strategy that would enable communities to stockpile rainwater half of the year and cope with drought during the other half, while mitigating the hazards associated flashfloods and massive soil erosion," Ty said.
Source: http://www.congress.gov.ph
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
