TUBA, Benguet — Philex Mining Corp. on Tuesday donated a water analysis equipment worth half a million pesos to Tuba, Benguet to safeguard the health of the residents of this upland town.
In a simple turnover ceremony at the town’s legislative hall, Tuba Mayor Ignacio Rivera and municipal health officer Dr. Lorigrace Austria led other town officials in accepting the apparatus from Mila Salinas, Cluster Coordinator of Philex Mining’s Community Relations Department.
“We are very thankful to Philex Mines. With this equipment, we will be able to monitor the quality of water in our barangays and ensure a safe drinking water for our constituents,” Rivera said.
“It is a very essential equipment to monitor the quality of water in our municipality and protect the health of our people,” Austria noted. “We know for a fact that water quality changes, especially now with climate change. By conducting regular monitoring, we will be able to come up with measures to prevent the occurrence of acute gastroenteritis or diarrhea.”
Austria said diarrhea is the eighth leading cause of sickness in Tuba.
The health official said her staff would be trained by Philex Mining’s Community Relations Department on how to use the equipment.
Austria also said her staff would do the initial monitoring of the water quality in the town, the findings of which would be forwarded to the provincial water analysis laboratory at the Benguet General Hospital for confirmation and release of final results. (Primo Agatep/PNA)
