ENVIRONMENT Secretary Roy A. Cimatu on Tuesday vowed to make one of the most polluted rivers in Metro Manila healthy once more. He wants its water not just to be swimmable but also clean and green as to allow native fish to thrive for present and future generations.
Briefing reporters on the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the DENR, the local government units (LGUs) of Pasay and Parañaque and SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Cimatu said while Parañaque River is “relatively clean,” along with Estero Tripa de Gallina, it remains among the “millionaire rivers” as far as coliform bacteria count is concerned. This, he added, makes it imperative for the government to rehabilitate it to succeed in saving Manila Bay.
At Tripa de Gallina, particularly at the Tramo Bridge in Pasay City in October last year, the coliform level is about 92 million most probable number (MPN) per 100 milliliters.
As of January, it is now down to just 11 MPN per 100 milliliters.
Even the most sturdy fish may not survive in this condition, or if they do, consuming them may be hazardous to humans.
Last month, the DENR signed a MOA with San Miguel Corporation, which is “adopting” the Tullahan River, another dirty river that drains out to Manila Bay.
Signing the MOA for SM Prime Holding was its president, Jeffrey Lim; Mayor Antonino Calixto of Pasay City; and Parañaque City Administrator Fernando C. Soriano, representing Mayor Edwin L. Olivarez. The event was also graced by SM Prime Holdings Chairman Henry Sy Jr.
Speaking mostly in Filipino, Cimatu sounded confident of reviving the Parañaque River and Estero Tripa de Gallina with the help of SM Prime Holdings Inc. and the political will of the Pasay and Parañaque LGUs.
Ultimate goal: Save Manila Bay
The rehabilitation of the Parañaque River, also known as Las Piñas-Parañaque River System, and the Estero Tripa de Gallina, along with other river and esteros that lead out to Manila, is a key strategy in rehabilitating Manila Bay.
“We will dredge and take out the garbage embedded under the Parañaque River and the Estero de Tripa de Gallina so the fish can thrive there once more,” Cimatu said.
Lim said SM Prime Holdings will help DENR in its effort to clean water bodies as its commitment to promoting a clean environment for all generations.
“I would like to thank the DENR for this momentous event. In 2012, SM Prime entered into a five-year collaborative undertaking between DENR, LGU San Juan and the Environmental Management Bureau [EMB]. With the hard work that has been done and the support of the LGU, we can all say that the program has resulted in improved quality of the San Juan River. Today, SM Prime is here again for the Manila Bay under the adopt-a-river program,” Lim said.
Several SM establishments along Manila Bay were earlier tagged among violators of environmental laws by the DENR and the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), particularly the Clean Water Act of 2004 when it launched the P4.7-billion, seven-year “Battle for Manila Bay” program on January 27.
Calixto and Soriano both vowed to help the DENR and other agencies in its effort to clean up the Parañaque River and the Estero Tripa de Gallina, starting with the relocation of 160 informal setter families to a soon-to-be-built relocation site in Naic, Cavite.
According to Cimatu, the LGUs of Parañaque and Pasay committed to help the DENR enforce the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 and the Clean Water Act of 2004.
The DENR and LLDA, he said, will continue to identify business establishments that fail to comply with the order to put up a sewage treatment plant (STP). The LGUs vowed to review their contracts with garbage collectors, which, Cimatu noted, seem to leave out garbage collection in squatter areas or areas occupied by informal settlers.
9 rivers, 50 esteros
According to Cimatu, cleaning all nine rivers and almost 50 esteros that drain to Manila Bay is not an easy job.
On Sunday, around 16,000 individuals joined the DENR-led simultaneous river and estero cleanups in various parts of Metro Manila
DENR Undersecretary Benny D. Antiporda said the participants came from 181 barangay. The day-long cleanup operations netted 4,950 sacks of garbage weighing 70,889.98 kgs.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza