Rep. Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District), vice chair of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, has asked the help of plumbers in crafting a law for master plumbers to improve people’s access to clean and potable water.
In a press statement, he noted the proliferation of bottled water products, water purification and refilling stations which had proliferated in the absence of safe water coming from household taps.
“Most worrying is that the country has only 530 water districts that are operational, and their coverage is only 23.8 million of the Philippine population of 110 million—individuals and corporate persons included. The LGU coverage of these water districts totals only 647 cities and towns,” Chua said.
“This situation has tremendous public health implications because it means those 86 million Filipinos source their water through other means—mostly from deep wells, water pumps, rivers, and streams—where the water quality and safety is seriously in doubt, leading to the high incidence of diarrhea and polio, and other water-borne diseases,” he added.
Chua noted that “water from deep wells have high content of potassium and other minerals which makes doing laundry difficult. which is why many of the water detergent products in the market are designed to make bubbles even if the water comes poso or water pumps and from deep wells and waterways.”
“Help us in Congress improve your station in life by suggesting how we can craft a new plumbing law designed for the 21st century we now live in and with mechanisms for improvements that are not cumbersome or entail red tape,” Chua told master plumbers during a recent national convention.
Chua keynoted the 18th National Convention of the Philippine Society of Master Plumbers.
Chua noted that “water from deep wells have high content of potassium and other minerals which makes doing laundry difficult, which is why many of the water detergent products in the market are designed to make bubbles even if the water comes poso or water pumps and from deep wells and waterways.”
He also urged master plumbers to share inputs on updating laws for water districts, water distribution networks, irrigation, and adequate water supply which have been greatly affected by climate change.
Chua said, “much of the country’s waterworks and sewerage systems are ancient, dating back to the post-war era, pre-war, and even as far back as the 19th Century and further back. Although some aspects of building and home plumbing in the 1955 law were amended accordingly by the National Building Code and the resulting rules and regulations, including the rules on structural engineering, much of the 1955 Plumbing Law remains in effect. Many of the country’s dams and waterworks facilities are old and urgently need modernization.”
“Sixty-eight years ago, way back in 1955 when the Plumbing Law took effect, there were only the beginnings of government housing projects, there were no housing subdivisions and townships like the ones we have now, there were no high-rise offices and residential condominiums, there were no massive factories, industrial estates, skyways, expressways, multilane bridges with aqueducts, mini-hydro facilities, micro-hydro installations, and no solar-heated water for homes, and rainwater collection facilities for various types of homes and buildings,” Chua said