WV interagency body on environmental health formed
A regional interagency committee on environmental health protection has been organized in Western Visayas to give teeth to laws that specifically safeguards water quality and demands actions on related issues, the Philippine Information Agency reported.
The body called Regional Interagency Committee on Environmental Health or RIACEH is composed of the Departments of Health , Environment and Natural Resources, Public Works and Highways, Interior and Local Government, Agriculture, Transportation and Communication, Science and Technology, and Labor and Employment, National Economic Development Authority, Philippine Information Agency, and a non-government organization.
DOTC will be represented by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Land Transportation Office.
DOH 6 Environmental Health Chief Elvie Villalobos said the committee will oversee and evaluate implementation of Environment Health Protection and issue resolutions, advisories and facilitate actions on current problems.
Villalobos said the RIACEH is paying particular attention to the implementation of the 2007 Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW), which defines that access to safe drinking water is a basic human right, not just for public health issues.
Villalobos said the 2007 PNSWD’s implementation is significant because of new information on water management and sources, the proliferation of water refilling stations; the hazardous substances that contaminate water supplies and the existence of new approaches in safe management of water supply.
The 2007 PSNWD applies to all operators of water works, refilling stations and water providers whose quality of water must be safeguarded through monitoring and laboratory water analysis.
Villalobos also said that part of their advocacy on safe drinking water is the regular provision of results of water quality monitoring to water providers and local government units to help them protect water users.
