Greenpeace cites decline in RP's clean water source

By Alex Villafania INQUIRER.net RESEARCH conducted by environmentalist group Greenpeace said the Philippines may suffer a decline in fresh water sources by 2025 due to water pollution, climate change and lack of government-led water management. The “State of Water in the Philippines” study pointed out several river basins where a decline in water would happen such as in Pampanga, Agno, Pasig-Laguna, Cagayan Valley, Jalaur River in Iloilo and Hilabangan River in Negros Occidental. Greenpeace noted that while the quality of water is declining, the cost of obtaining fresh water is steadily increasing. Likewise, blatant abuse of water sources, disrespect for existing laws and even lack of enforcement are also to blame for the water shortage. The group also said toxic materials continue to seep into the water table and that the government has limited monitoring capabilities. The report also cited an earlier study by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which acknowledged that as much as 50 of the 421 rivers in the country can be considered "biologically dead" due to pollution. Greenpeace Philippines campaigner Beau Baconguis said in a statement that the problems indicated in the study are just a sample of what is happening to the country’s water source. She said the country should focus on cleaning up the production process among major manufacturing industries instead of containing or putting standards as to what are tolerable levels of toxic material leakage into water. “Another problem with the existing laws, aside from the fact that they cannot be enforced, is the fixation on standards. The law does not put a stop to the presence of toxic chemicals in the water, but assigns limits, or ‘standards’ about how much of these chemicals can be tolerated in the water. This leads to a legalized sort of pollution, because the ‘allowable standards’ for example of lead or mercury in the water, build up in the environment and can still end up in our food, or in our water,” Baconguis said. The group recently conducted Project: Clean Water, which would start as a photo exhibit on fresh water, in Robinson's Galleria from Oct. 10 to 17. This would be followed by several other activities to promote the cleaning water sources.