It’s time for the government to harness the newly-signed Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop Act to mitigate future water shortage in the country, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said.
With the law, Gatchalian said the government will be able to streamline process of securing permits for hydroelectric power projects.
This, in turn, will pave the way for the immediate construction of hydroelectric dams that can be used for multiple purposes, such as reservoirs for the daily water need of households, agricultural irrigation, flood control, and recreation.
Gatchalian noted that prior to the passage of EVOSS, the bureaucratic labyrinth that developers of run-of-river hydroelectric plants have to go through takes around 1,340 days, or more than three and a half years, to complete.
“I expect that the tedious permitting processes that most hydro plant developers undergo will now be shortened to half the usual time,” he said.
“With the implementation of EVOSS, the government is hitting two birds with one stone—we are not only ensuring the country’s energy security but also ensuring that there will be water flowing in the taps of every household,” he added.