The Department of Environment and Natural Resources will rehabilitate the Manila Bay in three phases in the next seven years, amid the firm resolve of the government to bring the bay back to life.
According to DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu, the Manila Bay’s rehabilitation will involve three phases – cleanup and water quality improvement; rehabilitation and resettlement; and education and sustainment.
Under Phase 1, the concerned agencies will cleanup designated waterways (esteros); reduce fecal coliform level and toxic charges from houses and establishments, and requiring sewage treatment plants for government, commercial, industrial, and educational establishments; inspect and repair leaks in old sewer lines; provide temporary sanitation facilities to informal settlers residing along esteros and shorelines pending relocation; implement solid waste management; and start planning for the relocation of informal settlers.
The Phase 2 of the program will involve the rehabilitation of old sewer lines in the National Capital Region, continuing relocation of informal settlers, and ensuring completion of 340 million liters per day of Maynilad and Manila Water by 2022.
In the final and third phase will be the continuous education and information campaign, sustained law enforcement and monitoring, and fast tracking or earlier completion of the sewerage system in Metro Manila from 2037 to 2026.
According to DENR, only 15 percent or 2.4 million out of 16.3 million of the water-served population in Metro Manila are connected to a sewerage system and about 3.84 percent or 187,000 out of 4,863,938 of water-served population outside Metro Manila are provided with sanitation services.
Almost 233,000 informal settler families are residing on the waterways of the Manila Bay, directly discharging their wastes to the water.
“The ‘Battle for Manila Bay’ is one battle that will be won not with force or arms but with the firm resolve to bring Manila Bay back to life,” Cimatu said.
“With the commitment and determination of every Filipino to do his share in this rehabilitation effort, we have already won the battle for Manila Bay,” he added. (Ellalyn V. Ruiz)
