The House of Representatives on Wednesday launched its latest publication entitled “Laws, Executive Issuances and Jurisprudence on Water Resources (1901-2022),” to serve as reference for policy researches on water.
Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, in a message read by Davao de Oro Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora, described the book launching as “a crucial step towards fully implementing our laws and allowing our people to take part in our efforts for the preservation of our country’s water resources.”
“It is our hope that this collaboration spearheaded by the Legislative Information Resource Management Department (LRIMD) and the Legal Affairs Department (LAD) will open up more discussions and interests in the topic and therefore promote public participation,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez was principal author of House Bill 21 calling for the “National Framework for Water Resource Management and Creating the Department of Water Resources and the Water Regulatory Commission,” along with Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre.
House secretary general Reginald Velasco expressed confidence that the compendium of Laws, Executive Issuances and Jurisprudence on Water Resources will be an “invaluable resource to many, a humble contribution to e-governance, and a testament on how the House of the People provides comprehensive, innovative and environmentally-responsible services.”
LIRMD deputy secretary general Dr. Edgardo Pangilinan explained that the book was written “to provide lawmakers as well as policy implementors, analysts, scholars, private sector stakeholders, and the public with a more comprehensive material that may be reference of various aspects of governance.”
“The compendium illustrates the strength of collaboration in raising the quality of public services,” Pangilinan said.
LAD deputy secretary general Annalou Nachura said the special collaboration between the LIRMD and LAD harnessed the skills, talents, and passions of their people to produce the primarily digital interactive publication.
Pangilinan noted that the compendia on disaster management and education were also among the LIRMD’s pipelined projects. The LIRMD will also be collaborating with the Committee Affairs Department and the Legislative Operations Department for these projects.
“With the support, motivation and inspiration we get from Speaker Romualdez, Committee on Accounts chair Yedda Marie Romualdez and secretary general Velasco, we are confident that we can achieve greater heights in providing legislative support services in the House of the People,” he said.
Also present during the book launching were Acidre, Deputy Speaker Isidro Ungab of Davao City, Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, Bukidnon Reps. Jonathan Keith Flores and Laarni Roque.
Representatives of other government agencies such as those from the Laguna Lake Development Authority, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, the National Water Resources Board, the Local Water Utilities Administration, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of Agriculture also attended the event.
