Where is P6 B MWSS water fund?
Volume XVII NO 29 (May 10-16, 2014)
LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight…” (Proverbs 15:26, the Holy Bible).
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WHERE IS P6 BILLION WATER FUND COLLECTED BY MWSS? The Union of Consumers and Commuters of the Philippines is raising a very valid point, now that water is becoming more and more scarce from the Angat Dam in Bulacan and the La Mesa Water Reservoir in Quezon City as a result of the gravely-heated temperatures in the country today.
The question, propounded by the Union’s president, RJ Javellana, in a morning radio interview last May 07, 2014, is: why are these two dams suffering the same problem of vanishing water levels when some years ago, the Aquino government collected hefty fees, now amounting to about P6 billion, from water consumers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces to precisely remedy this problem?
Javellana’s question gave rise to other equally-disturbing questions which President Aquino and officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) must answer: Where did the P6 billion or so contributions go? Was this huge amount, exacted from helpless water consumers through the MWSS and its concessionaires, really used to improve Angat and La Mesa? Why are the dams still suffering water lack now?
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AQUINO GOV’T DID NOT ACT ON VANISHING WATER FROM DAMS: Surely, if only the Aquino government used the P6 billion or so contributions from MWSS customers to buy portable machines that could turn sea water into safe potable and drinking water for the different provinces greatly affected by the hot weather, including those in Metro Manila and in the franchise areas of the MWSS, no one needed to worry about water lack and probable water rationing.
Indeed, the sea is a vast and inexhaustible source of water that could be desalinated and turned into safe drinking water, and any right-minded government official, from Malacanang to MWSS, would certainly try to tap it with the acquisition of desalination machines. Now, not only is there no effort to tap the sea, but the P6 billion MWSS users contributed some time ago is even nowhere to be found.
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THE BEST OPTION AGAINST OPPRESSIVE HEAT: So, what can ordinary Filipino mortals do, in the face of their officials’ evident inefficiency, incompetence, and criminal neglect, which have put everyone in grave peril? Of course, the organized sectors of Philippine society can march down the streets, rally in front of Malacanang and other government offices, but then not everyone can do these activities.
As far as I am concerned, still the best option for Filipinos over this problem of scorching heat arising from global warming and climate change is Biblical, as Deuteronomy 28:15, 22 and 23 suggest quite clearly. We should now endeavor to read the Bible and listen to God more conscientiously, and to obey God’s commands truthfully from now on. The other options have been proved to be inutile and useless, so it is now time to implement spiritual solutions, fast.
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ARMY ARMORY ON FIRE, EXPLODES: Radio reports as this column was being completed indicated that the fire that hit the Armory of the Philippine Army last Wednesday, May 07, 2014, caused explosions, apparently coming from explosives stored in the Armory, which injured not only bystanders but even responding firemen. I prayed that the fire be contained right away, to prevent more damage and injuries.
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UNTOUCHABLE ALCALA CANNOT BE FIRED? If Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala failed to make the National Food Authority, National Irrigation Administration, Philippine Coconut Authority, and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority perform well, necessitating the transfer of these agencies under Food Security Secretary Francis Pangilinan, why did not President Aquino simply fire Alcala? Alcala is one of the untouchables under the “daang matuwid” government?
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REMINDERS: Please tune in: “Tambalang Batas at Somintac sa DZEC”, at 1062 kHz on the AM band, Mondays to Fridays, at 6 a.m.; “Kakampi Mo Ang Batas sa Radyo Trabungko FM”, at 103.7 mHz in Don Carlos, Bukidnon, Mondays to Fridays, at 7 a.m.; and “Kakampi Mo Ang Batas sa DYKA” at 801 kHz on the AM band (Panay Island), Mondays to Fridays, at 10 a.m.
