Department of Water Resources Bill

The Department of Water Resources Bill aims to create a centralized management system to address all water-related issues in the country and improve the quality of life of all Filipinos.

The legislation seeks to:

Prioritize universal access to clean, safe, and adequate water for all Filipinos;
create a dedicated agency for water resource planning and policy-making to ensure sustainable and proper management and allocation of water.

This Act shall also absorb the tasks of different agencies and be responsible for the following powers and duties:

Policy-making involving irrigation, sewage, and sanitation;
Integration of water-related issues;
Management and protection of the country’s water resources;
Coordination with multiple agencies and government entities in researching and creating guidelines for water-related laws;
Coordination with flood control projects and contribution to the Integrated Water Resource Management policies and plans;
Regulation and control the utilization, exploitation, abstraction, diversion and development of water resources;
Promotion of water recycling and conservation;
Management of funds under the General Appropriations Act on development and improvement projects of water supply and sanitation facilities.

Source: Senate Bill No. 2771, 19th Congress and House Bill No. 9663, 19th Congress

Read statements released by the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines on the Department of Water Resources Bill here:

Read Arangkada’s Water Policy Brief here:

The Philippine water sector is much larger and more complex than often portrayed. It has been observed that the national policy debate surrounding water has, over the years, revolved mainly around the municipal water supply and sanitation/sewerage
(WSS) sub-sector. This dominant position of the WSS sub-sector in Philippine water policy is easy to explain. It deals with water as a basic necessity of life – globally accepted as a basic human right – and has received legitimacy through its inclusion among the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Medium-Term Philippine Development Goals of the country.