Case Study presentation: Partnering for Sustainable Water: The Water Code of the Province of Cebu Ms. Ruiz, RCE Cebu 11th Global RCE Conference 7-9 December, 2018 Cebu, the Philippines

1. Partnering for Sustainable Water:
THE WATER CODE OF THE PROVINCE OF CEBU
11th RCE Global Conference
Cebu, Philippines
7 December 2018
Reflections on Partnership for Natural Resource Governance

2. PARTNERSHIP FOR CEBU
A Network of 26 Social Development CSOs in Cebu

3. • CEBOOM
‐ Development aggression:
ISFs and the natural
environment
‐ water | Cebu’s watershed
area
‐ Cebu for who? whom?
• UDHA and LGC of 1991
• Cebu Uniting for
Sustainable Water
1990 ‐ 1999 2000 ‐ 2009 2010 ‐ 2015 2016 ‐ 2017
• Republic Act 9486 (Central
Cebu Protected Landscape)
• Cebu City Master Plan
(Schema Konsult)
• Cebu City +10
• Provincial Ordinance 2006‐12
• PB Resolution 386‐2014
• El Nino 2015 (“severe
drought/dry spell”)
• Cebu Water Summit (May
2014)
• RTDs on review of the PWRA
• Executive Order No. 2,
s2016
• PDPFP‐ELA Process (2017‐
2019)
• Inaugural Meeting of the
Provincial Water Resources
Authority
‐ 17 months: research, FGDs,
workshops
• Passage of the Water
Code of the Province
of Cebu (??)
• Restructuring,
reorganization of the
PWRA and its
committees
• Integration in the
PDPFP 2019‐2022
2018

4. Region 7 is composed of the 4 provinces
of Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental and
Siquijor, and the 3 HUCs in Cebu.
Cebu Province shared 40% of the total
population in Region 7 (7.4 million).
The province of Cebu ranked 5th in
terms of population size among the 81
provinces in the country in 2015.
Cebu is a densely populated province at
594 persons per square kilometer,
higher than the national and regional
figures.
Cebu grew at 2.22%, faster than Region 7
and that of the national rate.

5. Water available for Cebu
5500 km2 land area
.250m/yr of available water
WaC = 1,375 x 106 m3 / yr
compare with the consumption for a
population of 4.6 million at 186 liters/day‐
person consumption total = 337 x 106 m3 / yr
this volume excludes irrigation, commerce
and industry use

7. Water Situation
Scarcity
Water quality
Flooding
Fragmented water governance
Lack of active management
High growth rate

8. CEBU CSO AGENDA FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Empowerment
and Inclusive
Governance
(3)
Sustainable
Environment
and Natural
Resource
Management
(6)
Human Dignity
and Rights
(5)
CCAM and DRRM
Governance
(3)
Inclusive
Growth and
Food Security
(3)

9. Ensure availability
and sustainable
management of
water and
sanitation for all.

10. Philippine Integrated
Water Resources
Management Plan
Framework
Outcome 1
Improved Effectiveness,
Accountability, and
Synergy among Water
Related Institutions
and Stakeholders
Outcome 2
Effective Protection and
Regulation for Water
Security and Ecosystem
Health
Outcome 3
Sustainable Water
Resources and
Responsive Services for
Present and Future
Needs
Outcome 4
Adaptive and
Proactive Response
to Future Challenges

11. Take urgent action
to combat climate
change and its
impacts.
Conserve and
sustainably use the
oceans, seas and
marine resources
for sustainable
development
Protect, restore and
promote
sustainable
use of terrestrial
ecosystems,
sustainably manage
forests, combat
desertification, and
halt and reverse
land degradation
and halt biodiversity
loss

12. Some Insights on Our Engagement and Partnership
Consensus‐building is a necessary and continuing
process. The Cebu CSO Agenda for Sustainable
Development was a good platform and framework in
our in engagement with local authorities at various
levels of government.
Individual and institutional credibility of members, their
professional integrity, performance, commitment and
voluntarism helped weaved a technically sound
legislation.

13. Some Insights on Our Engagement and Partnership
A structured authority with a dedicated and technically
competent secretariat could have facilitated the
achievement of targets and timelines and implement
decisions of the authority.
For civil society – opening, claiming and guarding
governance spaces.

14. A continuing concern
A sense of urgency among Cebu’s political leaders to
address environmental issues, including watershed
management and harmonized land uses, continues to
be of critical concern.
Climate change and unchecked development show the
need for inter‐LGU cooperation and an oversight
authority.
Changing mindsets is key: from a short term outlook to
a proactive, strategic one.

15. Some questions as we move forward
The challenge in implementation: creating of a water
roadmap with clear indicators and restructuring/re‐
imagining the local authority to meet the need for new
solutions.
Buy‐in of municipal governments and the development
of the Integrated Water Resources Management Plan in
all levels of government.
Genuine decentralization ‐‐ autonomy of local authority
vis‐à‐vis the NWRB.

16. Daghang salamat!