PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan – Provincial Board Member David Francis Ponce de Leon requested the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday to make portable ceramic water filters available to residents of Mangsee Island, Balabac.
Through a resolution, Ponce de Leon also urged the health department to regularly conduct information, education, and campaigns on water purification to residents in Mangsee to prevent them from drinking contaminated water supply.
“The poor condition of water sources in Barangay Mangsee because they’re contaminated with the bacteria that causes diarrhea must be addressed with the help of the DOH,” he said.
He added that this device will surely help residents in the island barangay avoid contracting diarrhea and cholera due to waterborne diseases.
The use of the ceramic water filters, he added, had already been proven effective by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in some areas in Region 4-B.
The filter pot of the device, he explained, had been created with red clay and coated with Nano-antimicrobial agents to eliminate waterborne diseases.
Ponce de Leon filed the measure following reports that 10 residents of Balabac had died due to diarrhea and as of the middle of February, 299 residents have been recorded to have suffered from the infection.
The resolution had been referred to the Committee on Health of the Provincial Board that is chaired by Board Member Eduardo Modesto Rodriguez upon his request. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
