The Interior Department announced Saturday it is discussing a $200-million grant with the South Korean government to assist local government units with “poor-quality” water sources.
The grant is expected to help the LGUs purify salt water and even canal water in high volumes with equipment that can be purchased through a soft loan, Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno said.
“If our agreement with South Korea would push through, the equipment will help communities in far-flung areas where access to clean drinking water remains a challenge,” Sueno said.
The South Korean government expressed its willingness to help LGUs with poor access to water in a recent meeting, he added.
Epimaco Densing III, Interior Assistant Secretary for Plans and Programs, said the assistance will complement the department’s efforts to provide LGUs with easy access to potable water through their Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig para sa Lahat or Salintubig project.
A technical working group will soon be created to discuss the specifications of the water-purifying equipment and its suitability to the needs of the LGUs, Densing added.
LGUs provide most households in the Philippines either directly, through a city or municipal engineering department, or through water districts around the country.
Some 8.4 million families have no access to clean drinking water, according to a joint report by the World Health Organization and the United Nations in 2015.
