(Photos source: Valenzuela City Official FB Page)
QUEZON CITY, (PIA) — Amidst sweltering heat and water shortages affecting parts of the Valenzuela City, the local government, led by Mayor Wes Gatchalian, has deployed two mobile shower facilities under its “pWEStong Presko: Libreng Shower Ngayong Tag-init” (Free Showers This Summer) program to help residents cope with the prevailing situation.
The country has experienced extremely high heat index levels this year. In response, the city devised a solution to assist the public.
With a total cost of P12.7 million, the city government purchased two mobile shower and toilet units, each equipped with four shower enclosures, four toilets, a hand wash basin, and a folding clothes rack.
These units are additions to the city’s disaster response fleet and will be dispatched to evacuation centers during emergencies. This time, however, they visited targeted barangays, allowing Valenzuelano families facing water scarcity to use the shower rooms for free.
“These two mobile showers will make rounds in our communities, starting in Barangay Parada. It’s a free shower, free toilet… they will rotate because some communities experience power interruptions, and residents can’t bathe due to the lack of electricity in their homes,” Mayor Wes said earlier in a social media post.
“Through these mobile showers, we will deploy them daily… to avoid illnesses from the heat wave we are currently experiencing,” he added.
Last Wednesday, May 1, Valenzuelano families of Barangay Parada experienced the mobile showers firsthand. In a Facebook video posted on Valenzuela City’s official page, residents expressed their gratitude to Mayor Wes.
One resident said, “The children are having fun… it’s like they went on a vacation [trip] to a swimming pool.”
On May 2, the mobile showers visited Barangay Wawang Pulo and Ugong. While the Valenzuela City’s official page did not release any fixed scheduled visits for the entire month, interested residents can check their page daily for their deployment.
This is part of Valenzuela City’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the intense summer heat and ensure access to basic sanitation facilities for residents affected by water shortages or sudden power outages. (LMN/PIA-NCR)
