As a water of fact

UH-OH, LESS than a month into the Aquino (Part II) administration and already, tap water is becoming a political commodity.

Now, the guys down here in my barangay must not only worry about tap water getting too costly. They must also contend with the problem of shortage.

For the information of our beloved action stars in the Senate, the water rates in Metro Manila averaged at P5 per cubic meter before the privatization of the water system.

Today, we have to pay more than P20 per cubic meter – and still increasing!

Put another way, even if they have the money to pay for expensive tap water – courtesy of Maynilad Water Services and Manila Water, thank you, they still cannot have the freaking water.

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THE BIGGEST source of potable water for Metro Manila is the Angat reservoir, accounting for more than 95 percent of the water supply.

According to reports, Angat is drying up fast and water authorities say that the water level in Angat is low because there’s not enough rain in the area.

The guys down here only wish that they could believe the BS. Everybody knows that the Angat reservoir has problems other than the drought. Hey, it is not the first time we are not seeing a lot of rain in this flood prone country, is it?

Anyway, it is widely known that the Angat reservoir is just a bit younger than the new president of the Republic. Word has it that, at more than 40 years old, Angat is losing a lot of the water due to faulty valves.

The reservoir needs to be rehabilitated, for one. This will cost a lot of money, for two. And the government does not have it, for three.

And here we have the brand new secretary of public works, Rogelio Singson, who used to be the boss at Maynilad Water, talking about the government borrowing a lot of money to build new water systems.

As DPWH secretary, Singson also heads the National Water Resources Board, the regulatory agency for water companies, including the one where he was the boss before joining the Aquino (Part II) administration. You know – from “regulated” to “regulator.” To think, Singson was not even personally close to the new president. I heard that he just got in as a favor to … well, some business groups.

And so reports said that Singson gave up the position at the NWRB. You know – conflict of interest! And so we are told that he will just, er, nominate somebody else. It is just the same thing. We all have heard of this thing called remote control.

Anyway, to solve the water shortage, Singson reportedly wants some quick solutions, such as mini-hydro systems. Where will the DPWH get the money? Singson said that the government would borrow it. Meaning, also, that the government will have to do the projects itself. I see!

What is a couple of billions of pesos more in debt for the government that, as of last count, only had almost P4.5 trillion (that’s right, with a “t”) in debt?

Admittedly, Singson is right to go for a quick solution because the shortage will only get worse.

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UNDER its contract with an IT company called Stradcom, the Land Transportation Office specified for “interconnectivity.”

LTO wanted to link up all its offices nationwide. Also, it wanted its offices to link up with all other government agencies – such as the police.

Some sectors, however, are not too pleased. Hmmm. Let me see. You mean, boss, that technology is a bad thing?

For instance, under the project, LTO can easily verify the TPL (third party liability) insurance that the LTO requires on all motor vehicles.

Some groups have made the TPL into a racket. You can get “fake” insurance outright. A variation of this con is, well, the insurance agents or brokers and what-have-you simply issue one policy to hundreds of motor vehicles.

To fight the racket, the LTO wanted Stradcom to link up all the LTO offices with accredited insurance companies and the Insurance Commission. The LTO can verify the TPLs with just a click of the mouse.

And then there is another racket involving the “mandatory emission tests” required by the LTO for vehicle registration. The LTO has also encountered, well, “fake” certificates.

How do you stop the racket? LTO simply required the testing centers to transmit to the LTO offices the certificates that they issue – electronically. It then becomes easy for the LTO to verify them.

In fact, the LTO should go a step further. In the United States, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) keeps electronic records of all the motor vehicles and driving licenses. The database is available to other government agencies. The police force is one of them, which makes it hard for criminals to become invisible in that country. I rest my case. –Conrado R. Banal III, Philippine Daily Inquirer