「日刊まにら新聞」ウェブ

President Rodrigo Duterte's order to release 150 days worth of water from Angat Dam needs to be clarified since it can be measured through million liters per day (MLD), the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) said Friday.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said, in a statement, Duterte ordered the MWSS, Manila Water and Maynilad to immediately release water from Angat Dam.

"Failure to act or comply with this directive, the President will personally go to them and make the responsible officers account for such failure," said Panelo.

In an interview over dzMM, MWSS administrator Reynaldo Velasco explained that Angat Dam releases a maximum 400 million liter per day of water.

He said it is the maximum that the pipes and aqueducts can accommodate.

"We are doing what we can (to mitigate the water shortage issue). The issue is not the water released from Angat Dam but how to solve the 200 (MLD) shortage,)'' said Velasco.

"The advice (that the president got) is wrong because we release the maximum 4,000 MLD water supply everyday. We can't release more than that because that is the maximum amount that can be transmitted (from Angat Dam)," he added.

Velasco said he sent a report to Communications Secretary Martin Andanar and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

Meanwhile, the National Water Resources Board said Angat Dam is ready to release water to ease the shortage in Metro Manila.

NWRB Executive Director Sevillo David Jr. told the Daily Manila Shimbun in a phone interview the agency will comply with the president's order, in terms of releasing water supply to the concessionaires.

"Angat Dam is ready to release (water) anytime," Sevillo said.

But he said they will still observe if there will be wasted amount of water during the release. Sevilla said they will consider the level of Angat Dam and the capacity of infrastructures to receive water.

"Among the things that we will keep an eye on is the water level of Angat Dam," he said. Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS