Palace, DSWD demonstrate filtration system to make rainwater potable

MANILA — The Palace and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday demonstrated the portable water filtration system that could help Filipinos produce potable water during El Niño.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian led the demo, showing steps on how murky water or rainwater can be filtered into drinking water.

The device can be attached to ordinary pails in a household.

Gatchalian said the technology has been used in disaster response in Batanes and in Davao Oriental in previous years.

“In fact, noong 2025, noong nag-automate tayo ng ating Luzon Disaster Risk Resource Center, iyong pangulo natin mismo dinemo niya ito,” Gatchalian said.

(In fact, when we automated our Luzon Disaster Risk Resource Center in 2005, the president did a demonstration of this himself.) 

The portable kit has a 99.99-percent removal rate that can filter bacteria that cause cholera, salmonella, amoebic dysentery, botulism, and other diseases.

It has a membrane inside that can filter up to 1 million gallons of water and has Department of Health certification as a medical device.

“Inatasan tayo ng pangulo to make sure na mayroon tayong supply ng mga filter. Mayroon tayo sa mga bodega ho natin,” Gatchalian said. 

(The president instructed us to make sure we have a supply of the filters. We have them in our warehouses.) 

The filters will be installed in several barangays for wider use to mitigate the effects of the looming El Niño.

He said residents could also install the filters themselves when the DSWD starts distributing them.

The portable filtration kit has household and bigger community editions with faucets.

Areas under a State of Calamity will be prioritized in the distribution of the kits, which will be provided for free.

“We will continuously procure [these],” Gatchalian said.

The Palace said that the portable filtration kit is only one of many government interventions for the weather phenomenon.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro stressed the administration is being proactive and adopting a “whole-of-government approach” to El Niño.

She said the president highlighted several priorities during the El Niño season, which include food security, health, water conservation, energy security, and public information campaigns.

She said cloud seeding, better dam management, putting up water treatment plants and using water tankers will help boost water supply.

The government will also activate 61 decommissioned deep wells to provide Metro Manila more water.

“Inaasahan ding madaragdagan ang suplay ng tubig sa Metro Manila sa pamamagitan ng mga bagong proyekto kabilang ang Kaysakat Water Treatment Plant sa Upper Wawa Dam na matatapos sa susunod na buwan,” she added.

(We are also expecting increased water supply in Metro Manila though projects like the Kaysakat Water Treatment Plan at the Upper Wawa Dam, which will be completed in the coming months.)