Philippine Red Cross sends water purifiers to Zamboanga for drought relief

THE PHILIPPINE Red Cross (PRC) has deployed water treatment units to six barangays in Zamboanga City that have experienced limited access to water because of the drought brought about by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

PRC chair Richard Gordon on Tuesday said that in partnership with the Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD), the PRC’s Zamboanga City chapter has already deployed water tankers and mobile water treatment facilities to Barangays Sta. Barbara, Pasonanca, Upper Calarian, among others.

Because of the drought being experienced there, these communities have either low water pressure in their areas or completely no access to water for drinking and domestic use.

“Providing clean water for those who need it is one of the life-saving services that the Red Cross provides,” Gordon said in a statement. He added that water, sanitation and health personnel for water production and distribution have also been deployed in the affected communities.

Gordon said that the water treatment unit that the PRC deployed produces 22,000 liters of groundwater every day—10,000 liters of which is distributed to the affected communities by tankers from the Red Cross and the ZCWD.

The PRC said that of Zamboanga’s more than 807,000 residents, about 160,000 are currently experiencing limited water because of the drought. Jovic Yee