Albay to dispatch 2 water trucks for Taal evacuees

LEGAZPI CITY --- Two water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) trucks and a water purifying machine would be sent to Batangas province to provide thousands of Taal eruption victims sanitized water, the Albay Public Safety Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) said on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Cedric Daep APSEMO chief said Albay Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council chaired by Gov. Al Francis Bichara decided to send a WASH team as part of its humanitarian mission in areas stricken by disaster such as the Taal eruptive event.

Bichara said that in a recent coordination meeting with Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas, the latter has expressed concern about the lack of water facility in various evacuation camps.

Based on that need, it was agreed that Albay would send a WASH team to assist in producing and distributing clean water in areas where the team would be assigned.

Daep said the two WASH trucks can accommodate 22,000 liters of sanitized water,while the purifying machine can likewise produce thousand liters of water gathered from available water sources in the area.

The team would hold its humanitarian mission in Batangas for 15 days, Daep said.