The government has been urged to act on the ‘water crisis,’ said the former Public Works Secretary

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, A reporter

THE GOVERNMENT needs to improve the way it works in water management issues and fix the delay caused by the purchase of the right of entry (RoW),” said the former Secretary of Public Works.

“We are facing what I call a cycle of destruction because we are not solving the water problem properly,” Rogelio L. Singson told reporters on Wednesday.

“Water is not rocket science. Unfortunately, the funds are not being used properly. It is sad that the funds are there but they are not used properly,” he added.

He said a lot of funding is wasted because the right programs are not implemented.

“What is happening now is that we have the wrong project, the wrong cost, and the wrong quality. So the money is wasted,” he added.

On the subject of right of way acquisition, he said all government infrastructure projects are experiencing delays due to RoW issues.

“The funds are there, there is no doubt. There are RoW fees. But in order for them to be able to use that, the documents must be complete,” he said.

“If the documents are incomplete, indicating who will pay and how much, how can you commit the funds? So, (the funds) are being returned,” he added.

He called for experts working with RoW in all infrastructure sectors.

“We need a dedicated team and a lot of help from the local government units (LGUs). If the LGUs do not approve the project, nothing will happen. Therefore, the LGU must accept this project,” he said.

The Legislative Development Advisory Council has identified amendments to the RoW Act among the key bills to be passed within 19.^th Congress.

However, Mr. Singson said amending the bill should not be a priority.

“The law is in place. You are already paying RoW according to the market rate,” he said.

“But what I’m proposing is to pay them based on the market and the replacement value,” he added.

He said this will allow land owners to buy land and rebuild their homes once they have moved.

“(The amount of change) is easy to calculate. It’s just a measure – what is the home made of – concrete or wood?” he added.

Mr. Singson, former president of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., was recognized by the Management Association of the Philippines as the 2024 Management Person of the Year.