DTI goes after vendors of tainted mineral water in storm-hit areas

Aside from going after unscrupulous traders jacking up prices of their products in the wake of tropical storm "Ondoy" (Ketsana), the Department of Trade and Industry will also pin down vendors of "tainted" bottled water. Radio dzBB's Denevin Macaranas reported that Trade Secretary Peter Favila cited complaints that tainted bottled water is being sold in areas hit hard by Ondoy. The reports indicated that the bottled water earned the nickname "funeral water" (instead of mineral water) from local residents after some samples were found to contain water with e-coli bacteria. Favila said he has dispatched monitoring teams to check bottled water, especially in areas affected by the storm. On Tuesday, dzBB radio reported that a private laboratory claimed that some samples of bottled water it tested were found positive for e-coli. Earlier, the DTI tightened monitoring of prices of basic goods, warning traders against selling their items at jacked-up prices that they risk stiff sanctions, including losing their licenses. Meanwhile, the Singapore Red Cross will bring in on Thursday 3,200 water purification sets through the Philippine National Red Cross. The units, estimated to cost $30,000 (P1.427 million), use hand-held pumps that can filter muddy and dirty water into clean drinkable water. Each unit can filter up to 500 liters of water, the Singapore Red Cross said. Sanitation problem Meanwhile, sanitation in evacuation centers is turning to be a big headache, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). Defense Secretary and NDCC chairman Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Wednesday the problem was mostly one of "attitude" among the evacuees. "There was a plan for portalets (portable toilets) but they are quite expensive," Teodoro said in an interview on dwIZ radio, as he urged evacuees to practice hygiene, and camp managers to be stricter in maintaining sanitation. He said the NDCC would welcome efforts to bring in portable toilets to the evacuation centers, mostly converted public school structures. The NDCC's 6 a.m. report indicated there are at least 78,892 families or 389,916 people now staying in 561 evacuation centers. It added that Ondoy had already affected 373,675 families or 2,254,915 people. The death toll remained at 246, with five injured and 42 missing. But GMANews.TV's independent count based on various government sources, death toll due to storm Ondoy may have already exceeded 300. Damage to property was estimated at P4.792 billion, including P1.591 billion to infrastructure and P3.202 billion to agriculture. Also, the NDCC has issued a list of impassable roads as of September 30 morning. - GMANews.TV