Green activists tell gov't: Stop blaming weather for water, power woes

Environmental activists told government over the weekend to stop using the El Nino, a recurring phenomenon in the country, as a scapegoat for the country’s water and power woes, according to media reports.

Advocates of Science and Technology for the People's Archie Orillosa said in a statement Saturday that the administration and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) should have prepared for the El Nino phenomenon.

“The El Nino phenomenon was forecast about seven months ago and yet the government seems to be reacting and scrambling to come up with hurried and superficial solutions only now,” Orillosa said.

Other environmental activists and indigenous peoples said Sunday that “flawed” government water and energy policies are the cause of the water shortages, especially in provinces affected by the dry spell.

Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment and sectoral progressive organizations under the Water for People Network said the water shortage is caused by the privatization and unequal distribution of water resources in the country, Manila Bulletin reports.

“The government acts as a facilitator for the biased distribution and control of our water resources in favor of big business enterprises over public service such as irrigating farmlands and supplying the water needs of communities,” said Clemente Bautista, Kalikasan national coordinator.

“Much of our water resources such as rivers, springs, waterfalls and underground water are being controlled and used by big foreign and private corporations through their water permit,” he said.

Bautista said that though data from the National Water Resources Board shows that in Region II, the drought hit Cagayan Valley region, out of 1,426 permits distributed to farmers and irrigators, two percent went to power corporations yet power corporations controlled and used 78 percent of the total water volume leaving only 22 percent to farmers and irrigators.

On Sunday, green advocates commemorated the International Day of Action for Rivers (formerly the International Day of Action Against Dams: For Rivers, Water and Life). Celebrated every March 14, the international day was inspired by the First International Meeting of People Affected by Dams that was held on March 1997 in Curitiba, Brazil.

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