In June this year, he attended a special course on managing water utilities, water and sewer infrastructure operation and maintenance and another course in Chicago, United States provided by the American Water Works Association.
He was with two other board members of the MCWD.
Aroa said there is no need to take the sanitary sewers from the responsibility of the water districts as that was provided by Presidential Decree 198 issued on May 25, 1973.
He said the government should instead fund water districts to attend to the sanitary sewers of the countryside.
The Presidential Decree, issued by the late ousted President Ferdinand Marcos, became the national policy favoring local operation and control of water systems; authorizing the formation of local water districts and providing for the government and administration of such districts. It also chartered a national administration to facilitate improvement of local water utilities; granting said administration such powers as are necessary to optimize public service from water utility operations.
According to the decree “domestic water systems and sanitary sewers are two of the most basic and essential elements of local utility system, which, with a few exceptions, do not exist in provincial areas in the Philippines.”
Earlier this month, Health Undersecretary Mario Villaverde told MindaNews the government is piloting sanitary sustainability in compliance with the seventh Millennium Development Goal, which is on ensuring environmental sustainability.
Villaverde spoke at the National Dialogue on Sustainable Sanitation in Cagayan de Oro City, which the DOH convened from August 10 to 14, dubbed to be the first big formal event held on sanitation sustainability in Mindanao.
He identified the possible Mindanao pilot areas for sustainable sanitation as Alabel in Sarangani, Polomolok in South Cotabato and General Santos City.[]
The other pilot areas are in Bauko in Mt. Province, Guiuan in Eastern Samar and Dagupan City.[]
