Leyte's quake-hit villages get water filters

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Dec. 15  -- Five villages severely affected by the 6.5-magnitude earthquake here last July received water filtration systems on Wednesday through Landbank's Gawad Katubigan program.

Landbank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) head Julienne Picato said they want to help victims gain access to clean drinking water months after the devastation caused by the tremor.

Residents have been complaining of water scarcity even before the quake.

The project is part of Landbank's CSR in partnership with Waves for Water Philippines.

The five recipient villages are Lake Danao, Gaas, Milagro, Cabaon-an, and Libertad.

The number of filters given was made proportional to the population of the villages.

Waves for Water Philippines country manager Carlo Delantar demonstrated to residents in each village how to set up the filtration system.

He used murky water mixed with soil, which eventually turned clear after passing through the filters.

Together with Landbank representatives, he even drank the treated water. The demonstration has convinced the locals to try drinking the filtered water.

Delantar said the filter is accredited by the Department of Health and is proven effective in sifting biological impurities, such as e-coli, which causes typhoid fever and diarrhea.

The filtration equipment has been widely distributed to disaster-hit areas in and out of the country, he added.

Delantar also demonstrated how to clean the filter once it starts to clog.

The filter, he said, could treat up to a million liters of contaminated water and could last five to 10 years if well-maintained. (JBP/PNA)