First in Bohol; Water treatment plant launched

PANGLAO, BOHOL, Philippines — A water treatment and supply facility, tapping brackish water and converting it into a potable one, was inaugurated on Friday in Panglao town of Bohol.

Mayor Nila Montero, Vice-Mayor Pedro Fuertes, and the investor led the inaugural ceremony of the first-of-its-kind facility in this town, and even in the province, which system and processes can turn brackish (or salty) water into drinkable water.

Montero, in her speech, said the ‘thirst’ for clean and potable water has been a long-drawn problem of the town, but this is now a thing of the past, with the opening of the facility, built by Panglao Water Services Inc. (PSI), a subsidiary of the Abejo Water Corporation.

Montero said that, from the time she put up her beach resort sometime in 1986 until she became the town mayor, the supply of potable water has been a struggling dream, coupled with the burden of addressing the rising number of renal ailments due to unclean water at the time.

All questions and criticisms, hurled against her administration, were hard to address because they were not experts, admitted the mayor prompting her to invite the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) to shed light on ways of tapping potable water resources.

PSI president and chief operating officer Gabino Abejo Jr., who invested on the water treatment and supply plant, said his company will deliver potable water to whoever is interested, while adhering always to high standards of clean and potable water.

Project engineer Joemar Gigtinta said the plant, situated at Barangay Looc in Panglao, consists of two giant tanks or cisterns—one for ‘raw’ water and the other for the converted clean water, ready for delivery—each of which is capable of storing 1,500 cubic meters of water.

Gigtinta said the plant, built at a cost of P200 million, will source out brackish water from 10 wells at Barangays Lourdes, Looc, Bolod, Bil-isan, Danao and Tawala, where resorts are mostly located. (FREEMAN)