A bill filed in the House of Representatives calls for the creation of a government body tasked with protecting the Abra River, citing its worsening conditions due to uncontrolled industrialization, forest denudation, mining, and rapid population growth.
Abra lone district Rep. JB Bernos filed House Bill 3119, proposing the establishment of the Abra River Basin Development Authority (ARBDA).
“Through this bill, we will save the Northern Philippines’ most important water network by regulating commercial and residential activities affecting the Abra River,” Bernos said in his bill’s explanatory note.
According to the lawmaker, the ARBDA “will help ensure that the discharges do not exceed the allowable established limits for the river’s natural waste assimilation capacity.”
“The North is our home. If we cannot protect the Abra River, we fail not only our environment but also the families in the North whose lives and livelihoods are tied to its waters… We have to protect the Abra River for the present and future generations,” Berson said in a mix of Ilocano and English.
Under the proposed measure, the ARBDA will craft a 25-year Abra River Rehabilitation Roadmap and Master Plan to ensure that various stakeholders are guided in all sorts of developments while still maintaining the livability of the nearby communities.
The ARBDA would also work closely with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Agriculture (DA), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), and the Abra provincial government to provide adequate, dependable, and reliable wastewater treatment facilities and sewerage systems in all their authorized service areas.
