DOH appeals for portalet donations for Taal victims

MANILA, Philippines — To ensure proper sanitation in evacuation centers, the Department of Health (DOH) is appealing to the private sector to donate portable toilets for those who were displaced from their homes by Taal volcano’s unrest.

“We’ve sent our DOH rapid health assessment teams, we’ve sent our disease surveillance officers, we have been on the lookout by way of early detection of outbreaks. So everything is being put in place but sanitation is what I keep hammering on,” Health chief Francisco Duque III said in an ambush interview.

“‘Yung portalets kasi ang mahal e. Medyo, it’s quite prohibitive but we are appealing for, even the private sector to also send portalets,” he added.

A check at online stores showed that prices of portalets could range from P60,000 to P96,000, while some may be rented for P300 to P800.

“We appeal to them (private sector ), in the spirit of bayanihan and corporate social responsibility of the very progressive private sector entities, it’s a good time to share their resources,” Duque said.

While there are toilets in schools that serve as evacuation centers, Duque said the DOH is still eyeing to build more latrines for the evacuees. Over 87,000 evacuees are staying in 276 evacuation centers, according to Duque.

“Yung iba namang evacuation centers gaya ng mga paaralan ay may mga sariling banyo so nakakatulong yun pero in the end, we’re really looking at building latrines,” Duque said.

Alert Level 4 remains hoisted over Taal Volcano which spewed ashes last Sunday, forcing thousands of families to evacuate and suspend classes in the affected areas.