Govt ensures access to safe drinking water for Marawi displaced persons.
ILIGAN CITY/MINDANAO HOUR, June 10 (PIA) – Unsafe drinking water has been an identified concern at evacuation centers located in Balo-i, Pantao Ragat and Pantar towns in Lanao del Norte province.
In a meeting with the Regional Command and Coordination Center (RCCC) in Iligan City, National Incident Management Team (NIMT) Commander Col Mario Verner S Monsanto reported that based on the assessment of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH) unsafe drinking water has been a recurring concerns under the WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) and Health clusters.
To address this, Col Monsanto, overseer of the Cagayan de Oro City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) department, said they have coordinated with the Balay Mindanaw Foundation and borrowed the Skyhydrant water ultra-filtration unit and came up “how we can produce water” with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
According to Aili Gatuslao of Balay Mindanaw, this low-pressure membrane technology donated by Disaster Aid International (DAI) can produce 1,000 liters of water per hour and is highly effective in removing all non-dissolved species in feed water.
Further, the potable water produced from this 16 kgs.
Monsanto also reported that the NIMT was able to come up data on internally displaced persons (IDPs) using a map which can be viewed through the Facebook account at NIMT Marawi Crisis and they are able to trace IDPs including different hospitals located in Iligan City and Lanao del Norte.
NIMT has been activated following the clashes between the government and the Maute terror group.
The team is tasked to ensure safety of the responders, IDPs among others; address welfare of IDPs in evacuation centers; identify the critical resources that would be given in evacuation centers; and coordination.
DAI and Balay Mindanaw have been major partners since 2011, after Typhoon Sendong hit Cagayan de Oro.