OBLIQUE OBSERVATIONS
By Atty. Gilberto Lauengco, J.D.
These days, it is easy to get distracted with recent events. Unfortunately, these things tend to make us ignore several danger points developing around us.
Every summer, we talk about water crisis. Regrettably, as the rain comes, we forget the problem, secure in the thought that the monsoon will bring relief. We just have to bear the remaining few months and it will be okay. As such, we fail to see the need to address the situation as a whole.
In January 2026, a United Nations report revealed that “our natural water has been damaged so badly that historical baselines no longer apply.” In short, our water supply and ability to supply is being outstripped by our demand for water. The system we need to replenish and store water is being eroded that at one point in the near future, we will be unable to supply the people’s need for water. There is a name for this condition – water bankruptcy.
Economic development initiatives are becoming water-intensive. Developing data hubs with water-dependent AI tech, mining, and housing projects and other activities are taxing our already damaged water systems.
The DENR itself, during the 2026 World Water Day Summit, has stated that “the country has moved past localized water shortages into a systemic deficit driven by environmental mismanagement and climate disruptions.”
Let us consider the following factors. Fifteen major river basins in the country are being pushed to their absolute limits causing extraction points to dry up. Groundwater is being over pumped increasing the country’s groundwater stressed area to 26 from 9 just a decade ago. 34% of our population lack regular access to potable water. Our agricultural lands are being deprived of irrigation as we struggle to supply water for humans. Our water supply dams like Angat and others are being depleted at an alarming rate.
There is already a roadmap to meet this water crisis. It needs every sector’s help, however. For one thing, we need to really contribute to water conservation. More importantly, we need to put our support behind key infrastructure development that are meant to answer this rising crisis. The Kaliwa and Wawa dam projects, for example, are key infrastructure programs to alleviate the water supply problems. There are misguided individuals and organizations, however, who either by lack of information or unaligned goals who have been trying to derail these projects. Given the severity of the looming crisis, we must all help in pushing for these projects and calling out the said misguided groups’ efforts to stop them.
Summer is the right time to heat up our efforts to meet the danger of water bankruptcy.
