ORMOC CITY – A turnover ceremony on Monday, March 13, 2023 was held for the Water Filtration Facility or Mobile Water Treatment Plant donated by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) to LGU-Ormoc to help the city build its water resilience.
Accordingly, the said system is designed to filter any non-saline raw water source and produce up to 3,000 liters per hour of clean potable water, which will provide clean and safe drinking water even during calamities for the Ormocanons.
The activity was attended by EDC representatives Allan Barcena, assistant vice president and head of corporate relations and communications, Estanislao Pialago, Jr., head of Leyte geothermal facilities, and Erwin Magallanes, head of the corporate relations team in Leyte, together with Power 4 All’s CEO Angelo Valenton and National Resilience Council (NRC) Executive Director Silvestre Barrameda, Jr.
On the other hand, the officials of the city government of Ormoc City, led by City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez, accepted the said water filtration facility with gratitude.
Accordingly, the project is important and forms part of EDC’s promise to support the climate resilience program of Ormoc and the set up is that it becomes part of the city’s pilot resilience center.
EDC, accordingly, tapped Power 4 All to install the mobile water treatment plant that is capable of treating groundwater from rivers, lakes, and wells to becoming clean and safe water for drinking and consumption that meets the strictest health standards even in times of calamities such as typhoons and earthquakes with a lack of clean drinking water.
Further, Power 4 All will provide operation and maintenance support for at least one year from the start date of the water filtration system and will also train the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) on how to use it.
Ormoc City has been, accordingly, adopted by EDC through NRC’s Adopt-A-City program, which introduces an innovative pathway for businesses to collaborate directly with local governments, academic partners, civil society organizations, and communities in transforming local climate and disaster risk landscapes.
The city is also one of the pilot areas of Project TRANSFORM (a transdisciplinary approach for resilience and environmental sustainability through multi-stakeholder engagement) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), EDC, NRC, and other development partners. The project aims to support the DENR’s new Environment and Natural Resources Framework to further deliver environmental, social, and economic gains for Ormoc City. By Gwen Maurillo (EV Mail March 13-19, 2023 issue)
