Water system facilities to ensure clean supply for Mayon evacuees

LEGAZPI CITY – To ensure that the internally displaced persons (IDPs) or evacuees affected by Mayon’s continuing unrest will have access to clean and reliable water supply, the Ako Bicol (AKB) Partylist will be installing water system facilities in different evacuation centers in Albay province.

In an interview on Friday, AKB Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon said they are committed to meeting the needs of the evacuees, particularly in water, health and sanitation.

"As far as the national government is concerned, the food supply is sufficient as directed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for 45 days. We (AKB) want to fill in the other needs like the supply of water as one of the basic needs in the evacuation centers," Bongalon said.

He said the AKB technical team is now on assessment and evaluating different evacuation centers for the installation of water system level 1.

"This water system level 1 can help the evacuees in their daily water consumption, especially in washing their clothes, cleaning their dishes, bathing, and for their hygiene and sanitation. This is really important to ensure that they will be protected from different kinds of diseases. Water is badly needed in every community because water is the first line of defense against sickness," Bongalon said.

AKB distributed family food packs, "malong", soap and bread to 1,170 families who sought temporary shelter at San Andres Elementary and San Jose Elementary School.

Bongalon said aside from the water system, AKB will also address mental health concerns by giving psycho-social interventions to affected families.

"It is part of our interventions to help our affected families. We don't just address the basic needs of the IDPs but we want also to ensure their mental health. It is very stressful, the anxiety to stay not in your house, thinking about your livelihood that you need to leave. These concerns will need to be conveyed," he said.

Displaced learners

Meanwhile, Shirley Banzagales, a teacher at San Jose Elementary School said they continue to conduct classes even if classrooms are being used as evacuation centers.

"The order to us by the Department of Education (DepEd) is, as much as possible, not to disrupt the classes of the learners. The total number of my students is 27. We divided it into two sets. When set A is in school (face-to-face) and the other set B of students is in modular. Presently, they are having the assessment test in Mathematics. Next week they will have their periodical test," Banzagales said in an interview.

She said that despite some discomfort being experienced by students in the new setup, they are motivated and willing to learn.

"Based on the agreement, in the morning, the original occupant, San Jose Elementary School, does the classes, and in the afternoon, the evacuees from Calbayog Elementary School do the classes, while others shift to modular distance learning," she added.

In a statement, Camalig Mayor Carlos Irwin G. Baldo Jr. stressed that every displaced child has the right to learn.

"Karapatan yadi san kada akos, kaya kaypwan ta maasegurar na ayo man gilayon sinda access sa pag-adal maski nagasapar kita ning kadipisilan (It is right of every child to learn, that's why we need to ensure that despite what we are facing, we give them the access to learn)," Baldo said.

Camalig has been collaborating with the DepEd and the public schools in exploring innovative ways to keep the children on track and maintain their enthusiasm for learning, while also helping them cope with the stress of displacement.

Earlier, DepEd-Bicol Regional Director Gilbert Sadsad said they would be using temporary learning shelters that will be set up in different evacuation centers to ensure the continuity of schooling of learners.

"During the vacation, because we will have our closing on July 10-14, we will be having a learning camp where we will provide intervention and enrichment activity for those children in the evacuation centers," Sadsad said. (PNA)