ILOILO City – The Iloilo provincial government is open to purchasing desalination machines for waterless areas, according to Provincial Administrator Raul Banias.
Banias considers the equipment a good solution to the lack of potable water in some areas in the province.
But the cost is of particular concern – a desalination machine made in Israel, for instance, is worth P8 million – he said.
Banias was present when the Israeli Embassy, through Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Effie Ben Matityau, turned over to the Philippine Red Cross a desalination machine at the Senate last Wednesday.
“I was really impressed,” the provincial administrator said of the demonstration on how the machine works.
“Ang tubig came from the dirty water sang Manila Bay. Gina-pump nila kag gin-desalinate. Gintilawan ko man ang tubig nga desalinated, it really tasted like purified water,” he said.
The capitol official said the desalination machine could produce 1,000 liters of purified water per hour.
The equipment consumes only “about 1.5 liters of fuel per hour of operation, depende sa salinity sang tubig,” he added.
“Matahom tani ini nga solution sa mga waterless areas, especially sa mga islands, but the cost is another consideration kay medyo mahal man ang ila unit,” said Banias.
Such equipment, according to Banias, is already available in the Philippine market and capitol is finding means to buy one./PN
