THERE was good news these last few weeks from Sarangani Bay at the southern tip of Mindanao. Large groups of marine mammals – sperm whales and dolphins – were reported in the waters off Glan and Malapatan in Sarangani province and in General Santos City – apparently thriving in the rich waters of the bay.
Hundreds of the marine mammals were seen during the week that the government team went around the bay, a sign that the bay had a healthy marine environment with abundant food for the sea animals. In the team were personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape, the Sarangani Province Environmental Conservation and Protection Center, and the General Santos City DENR office.
The big ocean creatures had actually been seen as early as 2010 when a marine survey was ordered by the Sarangani provincial government in connection with the Sarangani Bay Festival in May. The bay has long been noted for its biodiversity, said to be richer than those of Carigara Bay in Northern Leyte, Sogod Bay in Southern Leyte, Bais Bay in Negros, and Illana Bay in Northwestern Mindanao.
In stark contrast to these Philippine bays rich with sea life, our own Manila Bay is today so grossly polluted that no such sea animals as whales and dolphins have been seen in its waters in a long time. These sea creatures may have ventured into the bay, which is about four times bigger than Sarangani Bay, in the times before Metro Manila grew to what it is today. They would not survive today’s pollution.
The fecal coliform level in the waters off Malate, Manila, was last reported at 2.44 billion MPN (most probable number) per 100 milliliters. This is way, way above the safe swimming level of 100 MPN. The DENR has begun a Manila Bay cleanup, following its successful six-month Boracay cleanup, but it has found that it will take over ten years to achieve similar results in Manila Bay.
For years and years, 17 river systems have been flowing into the bay, bearing the untreated wastes of thousands of squatter and other families, along with the wastewater of factories and other commercial establishments in thousands of communities around the bay, from Bataan in the northwest to Pampanga and Bulacan, to Metro Manila, and Cavite in the southwest.
Sarangani Bay and the other bodies of water in southern Philippines are fortunate that they still have whales, dolphins, and other sea life which are able to thrive in their clean waters. The local governments in these provincial bays and coves should learn from the tragedy suffered by Manila Bay due to neglect by responsible officials who allowed it to deteriorate into what it is today, the dirtiest, most polluted body of water in the entire country.
