Massive desilting to rehabilitate Manila Bay has begun.
Various equipment such as amphibious excavators, dumping scows, dump trucks, debris segregator, and vacuum sewer jet cleaners were deployed in Manila Bay Tuesday, marking the first day of dredging operations tasked to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The mission dubbed as “DPWH Sagip Manila Bay,” according to Secretary Mark Villar, will cover approximately 1.5-kilometer stretch of Manila Bay from Manila Yacht Club breakwater to the US Embassy.
An estimated 225,000 cubic meters of silt will be removed across the area, the secretary said.
“This event marks the full-blast dredging within this critical section of Manila Bay. Our Bureau of Equipment, regional and district engineering offices in Metro Manila have deployed a total of 28 equipment, and 50 personnel to operate 16 hours a day, six days a week,” Villar said.
Excavation, Villar added, will be the major mechanism for the removal of the accumulated pollutants in Manila Bay. They are aiming to desilt within 150 meters from the shoreline of Manila Bay.
Desilting activities in Manila Bay will be divided into five sectors, each ranging from 200 to 300-meter long, until the entire 1.5-kilometer is finished, according to Bureau of Equipment Director Toribio Noel Ilao.
Each sector will be desilted approximately within 90 to 120 days, Ilao added.
The department will also coordinate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Philippine Coast Guard inmonitoring Manila Bay using bathymetric or depth measurement survey, water quality test, and ocular inspection.
It is also the role of the DPWH to conduct clean-up and declogging of tributaries and drainage canals in Manila City.
“These tributaries or esteros and drainage pipes need to be cleaned and unclogged, as trash from these areas will eventually make their way to Manila Bay,” Villar said.
In February, President Duterte has ordered the creation of the Manila Bay Task Force composed of various government agencies to ensure the expedited and complete rehabilitation, restoration, and conservation of the coastal and marine ecosystem of the Manila Bay. (Betheena Kae Unite)