A water desalination and purification system went online this week and will provide drinking water to soldiers manning Mavulis Island in the Batanes town of Itbayat, one of the country’s northernmost municipalities.

Governor Marilou Cayco said she joined Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana when he ceremonially switched on the facility that would provide a steady and sustainable source of drinking water for the military troops stationed in Mavulis Island.

Mavulis Island is manned by a Marine unit of the Naval Forces Northern Luzon and members of the Marine Informant Network (MIN).