Water, the life-giving element that surrounds almost seventy five percent of the earth, is silently crying out for help to us for it is currently dying. Not anymore is the earth beautiful and majestic with its crystal clear waters like before. Humans have transformed it into a polluted and hideous place filled with pitch black rivers and lakes. Finding potable drinking water in this technologically advanced world seems to become like a scavenger hunt since most of the fresh water resources are now being deleted from the map in each passing hour. This problem extends to the whole world and does not exclude anyone from its grasp. Not even our country got away from this so-called plague of the new century. The shortage of potable drinking water in the Philippines is drastically becoming a crisis due to the escalating number of contaminated rivers, lakes and other bodies of fresh water.

       Modernization truly caused radical changes in the environment which affected its balance and stability. Now that the waters flowing through the veins of the country are tainted, there is only one thing left to do and that is to find out why it turned out this way. With various studies pointing out that waste water coming out of factory drainages is the main cause of devastation, it is only right to blame the problem on the factory owners. They are the ones who are irresponsible and have no concern at all for the damage they are creating. These people maybe highly educated but are too greedy to only think of their profit and not realize that their wrongdoings would cause great damage to future generations. This attitude that these people portray to the community simply shows that they just care for themselves – not for others, not for the environment. Therefore, up until now the cause of water pollution is still lying in the hands of the affluent company leaders who resist constructing safety measures which could be the only salvation left for water.

     Under the law, discarding toxic chemicals and waste water that has not been treated properly directly into bodies of water is strictly prohibited. However, owners of companies who violate this regulation simply get away without being noticed by the authorities. Is this poor implementation of the law on the part of the environmental inspectors or is there business going on under the table? Examining the present condition, everyone can see that both of these are occurring in society. To find a remedy to eliminate these two may take ages, so for now, the country must do what it can to at least reduce the desolation of bribery and create ways to execute the policies better. Even the most negligible change for the improvement of the system could make a massive difference when it comes to having abundant potable drinking water again.

      Being a member of society, everyone should work towards the betterment of the community – this means that no one is exempted. The factory owners could contribute to restoring life once more to bodies of water by constructing waste water treatment facilities. It may seem a bit expensive at first. However, the price to pay in not doing this is far greater than anything else because it is the life of others which is at stake. The government should also help and produce campaigns that aim to abolish wrong operations being done by environment inspectors. Lastly, as a whole, the community ought to be attentive and watch out for anomalies that are happening so as to prevent them from getting worse. Let us all work to restore and heal the wounds that we have caused the life source – water.

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