THE DEPARTMENT of Science and Technology-Davao Region (DoST-11) has received the green light from the Davao City council to set up wastewater treatment facilities along the Davao River and at the city’s slaughterhouse.
DoST-11 Regional Director Anthony C. Sales told media at Wednesday’s Habi at Kape forum that the project already has a P9-million funding from the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development.
Aside from the Ma-a slaughterhouse, other sites for the treatment facility are a poultry farm in Tugbok, an urban poor community, and at least one small private enterprise.
“Our strategy in DoST, we are engaging as many as stakeholders as possible and we will do it one SME at a time one household at a time,” he said.
“But we are trying to engage the private sector to adopt the technology so that they themselves will invest,” he added.
The facilities will use the Vertical Helophyte Filtration System (VHFS) technology that allows filtration and reuse of wastewater. It will also be used for the Sanitation Embankment Project, which will cover a 10-kilometer stretch of the Davao River where there are settlers.
This P300-million project will be covered by the government’s People Survival Fund.
“There is a stretch of urban informal settlers, we want to bring them further away from the river and then construct the sani-embankment,” Mr. Sales said.
Communal toilets will be built for the community, which will be connected to the sani-embankment.
“This is an all in one flood control and management strategy plus sanitation strategy.” — Maya M. Padillo and Carmelito Q. Francisco

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