DSWD to roll out filtration kits, assures public treated water is ‘safe’

MANILA, Philippines — The government on Wednesday assured the public that water processed using filtration technology is safe to drink as it prepares to roll out water treatment kits next week to help cushion the impact of a “very strong” El Niño.

At a Palace briefing, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian demonstrated how to install a water filtration system on a 20-liter bucket that contained water mixed with soil.

Gatchalian and Palace press officer Claire Castro then drank the filtered water and vouched for its potability.

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“The water is clean,” said Castro.

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According to Gatchalian, the kit can filter water from deep wells, springs and even rainwater. It can filter up to 1 million gallons of water over five years, with a removal rate of 99.99 percent. He added that the kit had passed the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water.

“If rainwater catchers or even basins are available, the collected water can be processed through a water filtration system to provide a supply of potable water,” Gatchalian said.

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The department has used the devices in disaster response since 2024, including in Batanes following Typhoon “Julian” and in Davao Oriental in 2025, Gatchalian said.

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“This is not something we are doing only now because of El Niño. As Undersecretary [Castro] said, we have been preparing for this for a long time. It is part of the department’s resiliency program,” he said.

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Gatchalian also said the Department of Health considers the filtration kit a “medical device.”

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It can remove bacteria and other pathogens associated with diseases such as cholera, salmonellosis, amoebic dysentery, E. coli infections, botulism and typhoid, as well as coliform bacteria, he added.

“We will roll this out nationwide simultaneously, but of course, we will prioritize areas under a state of calamity because that is where drinking water has obviously become a problem,” Gatchalian said.

“We have also identified high-density communities in Metro Manila where water pressure is already low. We will roll out the program there as well,” he added.

He mentioned Tondo in Manila and Dinagat Islands as among those priority areas.

Gatchalian said the water filtration kits would be distributed free of charge.

The DSWD is also planning to establish community-based filtration systems.

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“It’s safe for everybody. It’s potable for human consumption,” he said. —With a report from PNA