THE DEPARTMENT of Education-Western Visayas urged schools to check their water system to ensure its safety amid recorded cases of acute gastroenteritis in Iloilo.

The entire province should assist in preventing the virus from infecting students, according to DepEd-6 Director Ramir Uytico.

The divisions are told to examine its water source, water tanks, and faucets, particularly those in the regions used for hand washing.

He suggested for teachers and students to refrain from consuming school water.

“At the regional office, I will require our medical officer to always coordinate with our medical officers in all 21 divisions because I don’t want to say that this is just in Iloilo City. We will always engage our medical officers to go around schools and to check the water systems there,” Uytico said.

Superintendent of Iloilo City Schools Division Novelyn M. Vilchez noted that while no students tested positive for cholera, one had acute gastroenteritis.

“What the LGU has done (is)we had a meeting two times already and the action was for all the wells of DepEd Iloilo City schools to be cleaned and disinfected because 90 percent of these wells are actually infected (with) coliform,” she said.

Meanwhile, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Trenas also gave instructions to the City Health Office to check the licenses of water-selling companies.