Press Release
March 16, 2019

STATEMENT OF SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN ON THE WATER CRISIS IN SEVERAL AREAS OF METRO MANILA

It's time for the government to harness the newly-signed Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop Act to mitigate future water shortage in the country. With this law, the government will be able to streamline the permitting process of hydroelectric power projects, which will in turn pave the way for the immediate construction of hydroelectric dams that can be used for multiple purposes, such as reservoirs for the daily water need of households, agricultural irrigation, flood control, and recreation.

In the past, the bureaucratic labyrinth that developers of run-of-river hydro plants have to go through takes around 1,340 days, or more than three and a half years, to complete. I expect that the tedious permitting processes that most hydro plant developers undergo will now be shortened to half the usual time.

With the implementation of EVOSS, we are hitting two birds with one stone - we are not only ensuring the country's energy security but also ensuring that there will be water flowing in the taps of every household.

News Latest News Feed