Two educational centers in Guararé and two in Las Tablas have already received supplies and equipment to guarantee their access to drinking water and to continue classes. In Chitré, reserve tanks will be installed at the following schools: Juan T. del Busto; Hipólito Pérez Tello, Tomás Herrera School, John F. Kennedy, del Rosario School, Evelio Dolores Carrizo, Sergio Pérez Delgado, and at Colegio Papa Francisco. Similarly, another 35 wells are being enabled in the Herreran capital. The National Government has launched action plans in the cities of Chitré and La Villa, in Herrera and Los Santos, respectively, to optimize the national drinking water network. This initiative, ordered by President José Raúl Mulino, began with the arrival of supplies and equipment for enabling wells and installing supply tanks in school centers. This aid for the Azuero Peninsula was delivered by the Minister of the Presidency, Juan Carlos Orillac, designated by the president as coordinator of the action plan. Minister Orillac visited the water treatment plants Roberto Reyna (Chitré) and Rufina Alfaro (La Villa), as well as the water intake of the latter plant, to learn about the immediate needs of the facilities. The objective is to set up a technical table that, starting next week, will begin to define the actions in both plants and the financing needs to execute them, which must be coordinated with the Ministry of Economy and Finance. During Saturday's workday, Minister Orillac was accompanied by the executive secretary of the National Council for Sustainable Development (Conades), Antonio Tercero González; the governors of Herrera, Elías Corro, and Los Santos, Fernando González; and technical personnel from the National Aqueducts and Sewers Institute (Idaan). The minister expressed to the nation at the Idaan regional headquarters in Chitré that the action plan has started in Azuero, a region of the country that has been particularly affected by irregular water supply in recent weeks, but that it will continue to be implemented in all areas of the country that present these difficulties. He explained that to carry out the plan, the support of more than 300 officials from different technical boards is being counted on, who will provide assistance to the staff of Idaan and Conades in the tasks that have already begun. These are measures to resolve the situation in Azuero in the short term, while the rehabilitation of existing water treatment plants is advanced and the construction of new plants is bid on. He pointed out that the idea is for the rehabilitated and new wells to supply water directly to the distribution network, in addition to the water that comes from the La Villa river intakes, which feed the water treatment plants. Thirty-five electromechanical teams, including submersible pumps, have arrived in the province of Los Santos for the rehabilitation of 29 already-drilled wells. While the plan continues to be executed in Azuero, Minister Orillac will hold new meetings next week with Idaan and Conades to continue defining priorities and measures to be taken. In parallel, the drilling of six more wells is also being carried out and the drilling of another 16 wells is planned, also in this province.
