CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro (PIA) -- The Regional Inter-Agency Committee on Environmental Health (RIACEH) MIMAROPA held a meeting today, May 16 in Quezon City, to discuss the condition of the areas affected by the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.

According to the Department of Health (DOH) Center for Health Development (CHD) Mimaropa through the Provincial Health Office (PHO) of Oriental Mindoro, water sources with positive arsenic should need further testing and stop water sources who failed on testing. In the meantime, the PHO needs to supply water to communities affected and provide alternative water sources to them.

Moreover, the DOH will coordinate with the Epidemiology Bureau to conduct scientific study to correlate environmental and health samples to the oil spill incident, as well as to conduct assessment to establish baseline data of drinking water supply sources in shorelines of affected areas including tourists areas.

In the meantime, the agency will communicate with the Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau (HFSRB), which oversees laboratories to determine specificity and other concerns. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also requests for the additional baseline data of affected communities as reference on needs assessment for toxicology services.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the Department of Health, Provincial Health Office of Oriental Mindoro, Philippine Coast Guard, Toxicologist of Batangas Medical Center, Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and Philippine Information Agency Mimaropa. (GATS/PIA MIMAROPA)

Photo above: PIA File Photos