By Antonio L. Colina IV DAVAO CITY – Davao Oriental plans to tap seawater as a sustainable source of drinking water with a desalinization technology that would be sourced from Taiwan as decades-long efforts to obtain sufficient supply of potable water proved futile. (PIXABAY / MANILA BULLETIN) In a press briefing on Wednesday, Ednar G. Dayanghirang, chief of staff of Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghriang, said he visited last September 1 to 5 a desalinization plant in Pengwu Country, which draws a daily supply of 10 million liters of potable water from the sea. He also reported that a group of Taiwanese will be coming to Davao Oriental next week to undertake and ocular inspection to be able to come up with a design for a desalinization plant that would be tailored-fit for the province. Dayanghari said the provincial government has been undertaking efforts to provide fresh water supply such as drilling, spring development, and rainwater catchment technologies but supply derived from these sources have been insufficient. “Now, we are thinking why not think out of the box. I know we are not used to it, that’s why we need to study it and learn why the Taiwanese are successful with desalinization,” he said. Once approved, Dayanghirang said the project can be put in place by next year. Dayanghirang said he also met with a group of Americans and Filipinos which was able to develope a smaller desalinization plant that can produce about 12,000 liters of fresh water a day. He said the smaller technology was worth P2 million and could be established in barangays and smaller municipalities of the province. The desalinization plant can also benefit the coconut industry in the province because the salt derived from the seawater can be used to fertilize the coconut trees, the major crop commodity of Davao Oriental