MANILA — Shy of two months ahead of the 2018 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is urging aspiring candidates to prioritize water programs in their platform agenda for their respective barangays.
DILG Officer-in-Charge Secretary Eduardo M. Año said water is a basic necessity and as wannabe leaders in their respective communities, barangay and SK candidates are faced with the great challenge of ensuring that all their constituents have easy access to safe and potable water.
“Water is life and more than just quenching our thirst, it is one of the vital building blocks in nation building, particularly in creating jobs and in supporting the human, social, and economic development,” Año said.
The DILG chief made the call in time for the celebration of World Water Day on March 22 this year.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) has designated the World Water Day (WDD) on March 22 as an international day to ensure availability and ensure sustainable management of water and sanitation by 2030 as part of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 6. This year’s WWD theme is “Nature for Water”.
Likewise, Año said the department is now in the thick of preparations for the upcoming WWD 2018, with the hope to raise awareness and make the general public understand the importance of conserving nature for more abundant potable water supply.
He said the DILG had been actively participating in the series of inter-agency meetings headed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to discuss the series of collaborative activities during the week-long WWD celebration on March 15-23.
The DILG is one of the national government agencies involved in the water sector with the implementation of potable water supply projects in the countryside like the Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig (SALINTUBIG), Assistance to Municipalities (AM)-Potable Water Supply Projects, and Pro-Water, a Spanish-funded program under the iWash Governance. (Perfecto Raymundo, Jr./PNA)
