WATER TREATMENT PLANT. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the inauguration of the Poblacion Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in an unveiling ceremony at Barangay Poblacion in Muntinlupa City on Friday (Dec. 15, 2023). In his speech, Marcos urged the private sector to explore more water-related projects to boost the country’s water supply. (PNA photo by Rey Baniquet)
MANILA — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday stressed the importance of closer collaboration between the government and the private sector to address the possible effects of El Niño.
During the inauguration of the Poblacion Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Muntinlupa City, Marcos said the country would achieve “positive outcomes,” if the public and private sectors “unite for the greater good.”
This, as Marcos warned that the country might suffer from drought that is expected to be among the effects of El Niño phenomenon next year.
“Now, I do not mean to frighten anyone off, but it is a serious problem. But we are familiar with the capabilities of both private sector and public sector. Put us together and there's much that we can do and let us do that so that we have done our duty to the people,” Marcos said.
“Let us continue to work together so that we can provide our people with the best quality services that they truly deserve,” he added.
Marcos enjoined the private sector to further explore opportunities to collaborate with government in addressing the country’s water supply challenges.
With the El Niño projected to last until the second quarter of 2024, Marcos emphasized the need to prioritize the repair of water pipes to prevent leakages and the completion of ongoing water supply projects to ensure that the country has an adequate supply.
Marcos also called on concerned government agencies to intensify their vigilance in overseeing the construction of water supply facilities, particularly in regions grappling with water scarcity.
“What we need to do is to prepare, further capacitate so that should the El Niño extend to the second quarter of next year, we are still at the very least able to supply potable water, especially in the urban areas, we are able to supply our agriculture, we are able to supply our industry,” he said.
“And one of the elements that we sometimes do not think about, we think about those major uses of water, we also have to be thinking about our hospitals. Hospitals cannot operate without water and with the onset of a drought, that will become more and more important as it goes on.”
Marcos said water-related projects such as the Poblacion WTP Project is crucial in ensuring that there will be a “clean and fresh” water available to the public.
The Poblacion WTP is a state-of-the-art, membrane-based water treatment facility boasting a maximum design capacity of 150 million liters per day.
The Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) embarked on the construction of an PHP11-billion facility in 2021 to increase the water supply for its customers and to meet the growing demand for potable water.
Once fully operational, the facility is expected to significantly enhance service reliability for approximately one million Maynilad customers in the south—specifically in Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, and Cavite.
These areas have often experienced water supply limitations due to increasingly frequent shifts in the water quality of Laguna Lake, attributed to climate change effects. (PNA)
