MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) will require all public schools in the National Capital Region (NCR) to place signs on all their water stations to indicate water fit for drinking, an education official said Thursday.
This is to prevent students from drinking unsafe water, said Dr. Maria Lucila Peregrina, medical officer of the DepEd-NCR’s School Health and Nutrition Unit.
"I require na namin ang lahat ng public school na maglagay ng signage sa dapat at di dapat inuming tubig ng mga bata dahil health ng mga bata ang aming pangunahing concern," she explained.
ABS-CBN News got 4 water samples from schools in Makati, Quezon City, Malabon, and Manila.
Some of the students in the schools admitted that they drink straight from faucets even if they were advised not to.
They said they don't have money to buy mineral water.
However, University of the Philippines research department head Dr. Maria Auxilia Siringan warned that water that is not fit for drinking can cause diarrhea.
Out of the water samples she tested, one public school in Malabon failed the Philippine national standard for drinking water.
