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Remote village in Dinagat gets desalination equipment

By Alexander Lopez

February 10, 2022, 7:43 pm

<p><strong>SAFE WATER.</strong> Department of Trade and Industry – Region13 Director Gay Tidalgo (4th from right), together with Vice Gov. Nilo Demerey Jr. (left) and Verdex’s Louie Pacana (3rd from left), leads the launch of a solar-powered desalination equipment in Barangay Cab-ilan of Dinagat town in Dinagat Islands province on Wednesday (Feb. 9, 2022). The equipment will benefit the 270 households in the village, one of the remote barangays in Dinagat town.<em> (Photo courtesy of DTI-13)</em></p>

SAFE WATER. Department of Trade and Industry – Region13 Director Gay Tidalgo (4th from right), together with Vice Gov. Nilo Demerey Jr. (left) and Verdex’s Louie Pacana (3rd from left), leads the launch of a solar-powered desalination equipment in Barangay Cab-ilan of Dinagat town in Dinagat Islands province on Wednesday (Feb. 9, 2022). The equipment will benefit the 270 households in the village, one of the remote barangays in Dinagat town. (Photo courtesy of DTI-13)

BUTUAN CITY – A solar-powered desalination equipment is now in use in a remote village in Dinagat town in the province of Dinagat Islands, the Department of Trade and Industry – Caraga (DTI-13) said Thursday.

In a statement, the DTI-13 said the desalination equipment will address the problem of safe and potable water in Barangay Cab-ilan, one of the areas hardest hit by Typhoon Odette in December last year.

Through the assistance of DTI-13, the desalination equipment was set up and launched on Wednesday in the village.

The equipment was lent by Verdex Engineering Co. (Verdex), a renewable energy system design company.

Barangay Cab-ilan, according to the DTI-13, has 270 households.

DTI-13 Regional Director Gay Tidalgo said village’s geographical location was among the challenging factors that residents faced in accessing potable water.

“Cab-ilan is one of the many island barangays in the province that has difficulty in getting drinking water,” Tidalgo said.

She added that Verdex contacted their office and expressed willingness to support the residents of the village.

“Through the Dinagat Islands Provincial Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIPCCI) as the custodian of the unit, we know that we will be able to help people in the community have easier access to potable water especially that their boats that they use to fetch their basic needs have also been destroyed by the typhoon,” Tidalgo said.

Louie Pacana of Verdex said the equipment can desalinate seawater and produce an ample supply of fresh drinking water for the community.

“The system can produce up to 1,000 liters of potable water per day using seawater as its source. The operation could be extended until nighttime if needed to increase the output to 3,000 liters by using an alternative power source,” Pacana said.

DTI Provincial Director Elmer Natad, Dinagat Islands Vice Governor Nilo Demerey Jr., and DIPCCI President Leonel Rojo also attended the project launch. (PNA)

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