‘Safe water is not a privilege of the rich’

It is the right of every Filipino, rich or poor, to have clean water running out of their faucets!" Pinky Pe Tobiano exclaimed with conviction during a lunch that she hosted for a few close friends.

Pinky is a young, beautiful entrepreneur who is a chemist as well. Three years ago, she was diagnosed with cancer of the thyroid, but that is all behind her now. Today, she’s been declared cancer-free and her way of giving back to society as a cancer survivor is advocating clean water for every Filipino living in this country.

She put up the Qualibet Testing Laboratory and is encouraging every establishment and household to have their water tested. Without mentioning which villages, she said that based on tests, some of their clients living in posh villages were surprised to find out that their water was contaminated with E. coli (which is a kind of bacteria that could cause a lot of harm to the skin and digestive system if ingested), fecal matter, or was just plain dirty.

Is it any wonder that no matter how strict you are with your hygiene, your scalp is itchy, you develop chronic skin rashes, herpes simplex (singaw), you get a sty in your eyes, strep throat from gargling contaminated water, or gastroenteritis from ingesting contaminated water? This was what happened to my niece, who almost lost her life from having drunk contaminated water in a third-world country, and to a friend who had severe stomach pains and gastroenteritis for three months as a result of dirty water that she drank in a South American country.

We don’t realize it, but a big part of Metro Manila has contaminated water. It makes me shudder to think that I could be bathing in bacteria-infected water, or brushing my teeth with water contaminated with fecal matter. How yucky would that be?

Pinky shares this very inexpensive way of filtering water: Take a chunk of charcoal, wrap it in sterilized gauze, then put a big ball of cotton under the charcoal and wrap the whole charcoal-gauze-cotton-ball package in your silk stocking (make sure the stocking has been washed). Then put this on a spout, which you can buy from any hardware and attach it to your faucet. This is a cheap but effective water filter. This charcoal filter has to be changed weekly.

Being a cancer survivor, Pinky realized that everything starts with cleanliness and clean water ensures good hygiene. This is one of the reasons she put up the Qualibet Testing Laboratory.

Another thing she shared with us was about buying drinking water. Make sure that the water filling station where you buy your water has a certificate of analysis from a laboratory. And look at the lot number — it should be the same lot number as that of your bottled water. There are fly-by-night water filling stations that have fake certificates of analysis with fake lot and batch numbers. To be sure of the safety of your bottled water, go to a reputable water filling station.

Every barangay should have its water tested. Qualibet charges only P500 to P2,000 for testing, depending on the quantity.

There is a city ordinance that every building should have its water tested to ensure the safety of the people in it. For those who live in condominiums, you have to ask your administrators to be vigilant about this.

Hospitals are required to test their water. Pinky dares to say that St. Luke’s has safe water. Dentists should also make sure that they have safe water for their patients to gargle with. Restaurants, especially, should put their certificates of analysis on the wall to put their clients at ease about the safety of their food. Unless they use bottled water to wash their dishes, restaurants should respect their clients’ right to know that their water is safe.

Even beauty salons should have their water tested. I would like to know for sure that my hair is washed with clean water. Pinky most recently offered to clean the water of some Gawad Kalinga sites, Golden Acres Home for the Aged, and the Haven for Abused Women and Children.

Aren’t we lucky we have an advocate for safe water in our midst? Pinky Pe Tobiano is, indeed, heaven-sent!