Quezon City 2nd District Rep. Winnie Castelo is calling for a joint hearing of the House committees on Metro Manila Development and Housing on the water crisis now affecting many parts of Metro Manila.
Castelo, chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, said he wants to find out together with Housing Committee Chairman Rep. Albee Benitez what caused the water shortage and the possible solutions to it.
“We need to get a clear picture of the situation and how we’re going to deal with it because a lot of people are already getting adversely affected by the problem,” Castelo said.
“We will need explanations from the concessionaires, regulators, and the experts why we got into this mess and their suggestion on how we can get out of it,” he added.
“We will need explanations from the concessionaires, regulators, and the experts.”
The lawmaker said he has sent invitations to the two big water companies –Manila Water and Maynilad—as well as the National Water Regulatory Board (NWRB) to attend the hearing set on March 18, 2019 at the lower house’s Mitra Hall.
“All stakeholders are welcome to join the hearing so that we can collectively come up with the right approach to overcome the water crisis,” Castelo said.
“All stakeholders are welcome to join the hearing so that we can collectively come up with the right approach.”
In particular, Castelo aims to establish the need for the development of more water reservoirs as the lack of them has been cited by the Manila Water as one of the reasons for the water supply shortage.
“I also want to learn from Maynilad how it solved similar problems not too long ago, Maybe they have measures which Manila Water can replicate,” he added.
