MANILA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government is working on measures to prevent any water crisis in the country, a senior government official said Friday.
In a press briefing, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that water czar, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson, has been coordinating with local government officials on certain measures to ensure the water situation in the Philippines.
"So far, there's no problem on that front. But the secretary is also well aware of what needs to be done in order to prevent an event like that (water crisis) from happening," she said.
Valte issued the statement in response to a study conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) raising concern on the water situation in 37 economies, including the Philippines.
"Public utilities responsible for providing water and sanitation services to communities in India and the Philippines were found to lack capacity in all aspects of sustainability, including effective functioning, financing and demand responsiveness," said the ADB report on Asian Water Development Outlook 2013.
This is worrisome because these governments are increasing investment to meet the Millennium Development Goals without committing the necessary investment to building the capacity to adequately maintain existing systems, the report said.
Without better focused programs to ensure that water services reach -- and continue to reach-- all communities, poorly designed investments may reinforce existing inequities and exacerbate social injustice, it added.
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