DAVAO CITY — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) regional office here allocated PHP6.2 million to fund WATsUP or the Wastewater Treatment System Upgrading Program here.
DOST 1I assistant regional director Mirasol Domingo disclosed that the program will enhance the applicability of the vertical helophyte filter system for small communities, local micro small and medium entrepreneurs and public entities.
She said that part of the program under the public entities is the Sanitation Embankment Project of the Davao City abattoir.
A memorandum of agreement is being finalized between the department and the Davao City government for the implementation of the project which will start once the agreement is sealed.
She said the project is “good to go” and based on DOST’s timeline the signing of the agreement is within the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Domingo said DOST is piloting the project for three MSMEs engaged in food processing.
One of the three is Porky Best which is a recipient of the PHP100,000 grant. The two other establishments funded their own structures but received assistance through technology and other technical operation. Included in the project is the construction of the filtration structure with project partner Sean Ligvoet from the Netherlands.
Domingo said it is a type of technology used in households in the Netherlands even as she said that they had observed good results although not conclusive yet.
“We need to go further with our observation because we want to replicate it to other areas also,” she said. DOST also needs to see how the helophyte plants being used in the filtration process work. (Digna D. Banzon/PNA)
