Abstract
The chapter maps the array of formal arrangements between water apex bodies, national government agencies, local government units and water organizations with mandates on water supply and demand management. Institutional arrangements are complex, multilayered and fragmented, with duplication of tasks such as planning and monitoring, whilst few are involved in operations and financing. Local government units directly operate facilities and replicate the work of water apex bodies, which have no local presence. The role of the state is central as owner of property rights to water, regulator and subsidy provider. Despite increasing private sector participation in water provisioning mainly in urban centers, many rural and village-level waterworks continue to rely on grants from the government for crucial infrastructure, operations and management funds. The government uses water permits, subsidy, legal requirements for inter-sector transfer, and penalties for pollution as policy instruments. However, serious gaps remain as mechanisms are not fully articulated in order to meet social equity and resource sustainability goals. The outcomes are highly localized, politically contingent, and diverse water governance schemes. Select cases illustrate how the absence of clear property rights and rules for orderly contracting lead to political mobilization for preferred outcomes, local social arrangements, and water pricing innovations.
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Notes
- 1.
The water manager survey by Rola et al. (2016, 9–11) showed a remarkable diversity in pricing structures of water organizations. Only 74% of irrigation association managers claimed that their water pricing is based on rules set up by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA ) and 55% of water districts said their price is based on LWUA or set by their board. Meanwhile, some LGU-managed organizations and CBOs charge for water, but, in most instances, it is free.
- 2.
In July 2014, the Philippine Court of Appeals issued a Temporary Environmental Protection Order against PTKO H2O Corporation’s plan to extract 50,000 m3 per day from four rivers in Cavite province to supply the growing needs of Tagaytay City. The NWRB issued a water permit to PTKO H2O, but the court ruled in favor of the petitioners’ (a citizen advocacy group from the affected Cavite towns) argument that such an extraction will compromise the health of the watershed and result in much lower surface water flow for use by the other riparian Cavite towns. In another case, in Majayjay, Laguna, concerned citizens filed a graft case against local government officials in 2011 for irregularities in the 50-year bulk water contract (with 50-year automatic renewal) granted to a private water enterprise. The mayor, vice mayor, and town councilors were found guilty by the Office of the Ombudsman for extending unwarranted benefits, preference, and advantage to the private company despite its lack of experience in water system development. CA stops water extraction in four rivers in Cavite Town. (July 17, 2014) http://www.journal.com.ph/news/provincial/ca-stops-water-extraction-in-4-rivers-in-cavite-town ; Ex-Laguna town mayor, nine others indicted for graft (May 23, 2014) http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/05/23/14/ex-laguna-town-mayor-9-others-indicted-graft
- 3.
A documentation for an initiative to support policy rationalization among various water organizations in the Philippines cited the formation of the National Water and Sanitation Association (NaWaSA) in 2007, a grouping of small scale water providers. The same report cited that most small scale water providers were unaware of policies or national government agencies responsible for regulating them or water policy in general (The Water Dialogues n.d., 14).
- 4.
The NWRB is composed of the heads of the DENR , DPWH ,NEDA, Department of Justice, DOH, DOF, National Hydraulic Research Center, University of the Philippines , and the executive director of NWRB (as per Executive Order 123 [2002]. As reconstituted, NWRB is headed by the Secretary of DENR .
- 5.
National Water Resources Board Listahang Tubig: A National Water Survey. http://listahangtubig.cloudapp.net
- 6.
Manila Water subsidiaries to expand water coverage in Boracay and Laguna. 15 April 2013. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/303980/money/companies/manila-water-subsidiaries-to-expand-water-coverage-in-boracay-and-laguna#sthash.8QzbCOye.dpufhttp://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/303980/money/companies/manila-water-subsidiaries-to-expand-water-coverage-in-boracay-and-laguna
- 7.
Who owns our water? Bulatlat. Volume III, Number 48 (January 11–17, 2004). Retrieved at http://bulatlat.com/news/3-48/3-48-waterowner.html
- 8.
Philippine Star, 26 August 2016, https://sg.news.yahoo.com/agriculture-budget-cut-p3-4-000000473.html?nhp=1
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Hall, R.A., Abansi, C.L., Lizada, J.C. (2018). Laws, Institutional Arrangements, and Policy Instruments. In: Rola, A., Pulhin, J., Arcala Hall, R. (eds) Water Policy in the Philippines. Global Issues in Water Policy, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70969-7_3
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