Malacanang on Sunday denied that the looming water crisis in Metro Manila was a ploy by the government so that the construction of the China-funded Kaliwa Dam project would finally push through.

“Definitely not,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in an interview by Radyo Inquirer.

He said the government has been doing everything to solve the water supply problem.

“If there is a problem, there is solution. So I think those people responsible for that will have to their job,” he said.

Panelo said the administration does not have to tell lies just to push for what it wants.

“This administration does not have (to resort to) what is called front or the lies they are spreading," he said.

Water concessionaires in Metro Manila have been implementing rotational water supply cuts, citing the critical level of water in Angat Dam, the major source of water supply in the region and nearby areas.

Amid the water supply problem, the government has yet to address the controversy hounding the P12.2-billion New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam project, which is being funded through a Chinese loan.

Some lawmakers wondered why the Department of Environment and Natural Resources granted an environmental clearance certificate for the project despite allegedly failing to meet the legal requirements, including the consultation with the indigenous people who would be affected by the project. Ella Dionisio/DMS