Sen. Risa Hontiveros has flagged two water laboratory firms for allegedly passing the water samples from a water concessionaire despite failing at least one safety parameter.
Hontiveros, during Monday’s Senate Committee on Public Services hearing on disadvantageous joint venture agreements between water districts and private concessionaires, said that the Department of Health (DOH) should investigate, and if necessary, penalize two laboratories, Cosmolab and Scientia Tech.
The two laboratories allegedly cleared water samples from a water concessionaire in Laguna, which were later discovered to have failed in at least one safety parameter, according to local water district officials.
‘We will send you (DOH) the addresses of Cosmolab and Scientia Tech for double checking . and revoke accreditation if you so warrant,’ Hontiveros told DOH officials.
Inquirer reached out to Cosmolab and Scientia Tech for comment, but they have yet to respond as of posting time.
Hontiveros then quizzed DOH officials as to their oversight of accredited laboratories conducting water safety tests.
‘How could this water testing facility in Santa Cruz, which tested the water, and said it was only a typographical error that said the result was [marked as] failed. But the overall assessment came out as ‘passed’? Don’t you oversee such facilities so that they don’t falsify the results and put people’s health at risk?’ Hontiveros asked in Filipino.
In response, DOH Engineer Luis Cruz said the agency’s Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau oversees accreditation for water safety tests, and that all complaints involving erring laboratories will be then referred to the bureau.