DAGUPAN CITY, Jan. 25 (PNA)–Battery maker Eveready introduced its e-balde (e-pail) technology to instill disaster preparedness among residents of Dagupan during a five-hour seminar held at the Dagupan People’s Astrodome which was joined by Mayor Belen Fernandez on Sunday.
Louie Domingo, chief of Eveready emergency center, told newsmen here that e-balde is an emergency kit containing life-saving gadgets placed in a covered transparent pail which a family ought to have in times of flood and other emergencies.
He said these gadgets are specifically needed by families in coastal fishing communities such as Dagupan City, which is considered a disaster-prone area and can be carried by them whenever they seek shelter in evacuation centers.
The other gadgets in the e-balde include a t-shirt, underwears, canned goods, an inflatable plastic tube that can be used as a floater, transistor radio, medicines, spare batteries, plastic bag, LED flashlight that can last up to 60 hours, sling shot, candle, whistle, head lamp, mirror, reflectorized steel platter which can be used to send signal or produce fire when positioned against the sun, and hand mirror which can send signal to a helicopter hovering above.
He said a deck of black jack card and a ball are included in the e-balde kit since people and children need to play in evacuation centers while waiting for flood to recede.
Eveready tied up with Dagupan City Disaster Risk Reducfion and Management Office (DCDRRMO) in giving the e-balde seminar to barangay officials.
Domingo clarified that his company is not giving these gadgets to the people but is merely initiating the technology so that families can acquire these important life-saving gadgets to ensure that they will be ready whenever a disaster strikes in their localities.
Lady Reyes, product manager of Eveready, told newsmen Dagupan is the the fourth area where the company held its e-balde seminar. The first was in Metro Manila, then Davao and Cebu.
After Dagupan, Eveready will next introduce the technology to the people of Batangas, then General Santos City before reaching out to the other provinces.
Domingo estimated that all the gadgets to be put in the e-balde could probably cost P1,000 and some of these may be bought from the nearest department stores and supermarkets.
” What is P1,000 when by acquiring all these gadgets, you are saving yourself and your family?” he stressed.
This seminar and learning activity, said Domingo, is intended to educate and equip Dagupenos and Pangasinenses with Eveready’s nationwide disaster preparedness, said Domingo.
Meanwhile, Joe Emata, Eveready’s brand manager, said: ” This is the company’s way of giving back to the community. Our commitment is that during times of calamities, the public can rely on our products to keep familes safe especially in times of emergencies because Eveready is a reliable and trustworthy brand of batteries and flashlights.
Reyes said that unlike the China-made batteries now sold in some markets, Eveready batteries are environment-friendly since they have no mercury and cadmium and when these were already used, they can be disposed of like ordinary household refuse. (PNA)