It was a festive mood in the morning of January 26 as hundreds of government employees and volunteers from various civil society organizations gathered at the Baseco Beach in Tondo, Manila.
It’s the first anniversary of the “Battle for Manila Bay,” an ambitious program to rehabilitate one of the country’s most important water bodies to its pristine state.
Eleven-year-old Rodne would have been picking junks to sell at a junk shop had it not been for the festivity.
Instead, Rodne and his friends, Tikong, Brian and Aegis, each with a used sack of rice, are picking candy wrappers and plastic cups discarded by spectators along the Baseco Beach.
The four live just a stone’s throw away from the beach—the infamous Baseco Compound in Tondo, Manila, where informal settlers have built makeshift homes atop garbage heaps of what later became a reclamation area along Manila Bay.
Young community volunteers
Rodne said they have been picking trash for a year now to help “clean and green” their once filthy community—their street, the nearby lagoon and the beach.
“We are not being paid to do this. We just pick up the garbage to help clean the beach,” he said in Filipino.
His friend, eight-year-old Tikong agreed. “We do this because we want the beach to be clean. We swim in that beach,” he said.
Aegis, also eight, said he and their friends have fun playing in the white, sandy beach more often now that it is clean.
“It is much better to play on now,” he said.
A beach in Manila?
Not many knew about the existence of a beach—of all places—in Tondo, Manila.
Before the massive land reclamation that saw the development of Roxas Boulevard, the entire stretch, except for Luneta Park, used to be a beach with lots of coconut trees—where residents of the old Manila used to spend weekend mornings playing, bathing and capping their day watching the famous Manila Bay sunset.
Today, development projects like the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine International Convention Center, Folk Arts Theater, Mall of Asia, and other industrial and commercial establishments occupy and reclaimed portions of Manila Bay.
The land which covers Baseco today was once a dockyard of the National Shipyards and Steel Corp. During the administration of then-President Ferdinand Marcos in the early 1960s, Nassco was bought by the Romualdez family, the relatives of the president’s wife, Imelda Marcos, through the Bataan Shipping and Engineering Co., from where Baseco got its name.
In the late 1970s, the urban poor were resettled by the Marcos administration to give way for a possible international seaport. Baseco was declared a barangay in the 1980s. The administration of President Corazon Aquino later sequestered the property and the urban poor population began to resettle in the area.
Battle for Manila Bay’s focus
Baseco Beach is all that remains from Manila Bay’s famous beach. Many people—completely ignoring public health warnings about its poor water quality—still enjoy swimming to beat the summer heat, and walking and playing in the sand.
The Manila Bay Task Force, led by the Department of Natural Resources (DENR), has put a lot of focus on removing garbage from the bay, particularly the Baseco Beach area.
One year after the launch of the Battle for Manila Bay, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said it is a much better state now, showcasing the much-improved and garbage-free Baseco Beach, where the program for the celebration was held.
What it takes to do it?
Jacqueline Caancan, regional executive director of the DENR-National Capital Region, said it took countless of hours of hard work to clean Manila Bay.
The DENR linked with the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and other support groups from the Department of Public Works and Highways, Philippine National Police, Philippine Maritime Group and with the Philippine Coast Guard for the job.
The DENR-NCR said that in Baseco alone, a total of 254 cleanup activities were spearheaded by the agency together with the MMDA, and other stakeholders.
A total of 26,313 volunteers took part in the massive activities to remove a total of 7,252.92 cubic meters of garbage.
Boardwalk construction
Beyond the coastal cleanup, the construction of the Baseco Boardwalk was a big boost to its physical improvement.
The Baseco Boardwalk will be used to monitor the growth of the mangroves and to appreciate the mangroves planted inside a nearby lagoon.
According to the DENR-NCR, as of January 26, out of the proposed 348 meters, the 110 meters of the first phase of the boardwalk was already completed with 1.5 meters width and 24 meters-by-4 meters view deck that has a carrying capacity of around 30 persons.
Mangrove reforestation
To protect and conserve urban biodiversity in the area, the DENR-NCR has started to develop a mangrove plantation within the lagoon.
So far, a total of 3,564 seedlings were planted, 2,696 of which were mangrove species, while 868 are beach-type species.
On the other hand, the MMDA, together with other stakeholders, planted a total of 230 bamboo species at a portion of the coastal area.
According to Caancan, mangrove reforestation is a strategy to improve water quality in the area on top of putting an added layer of protection against geological hazards, particularly storm surge and tsunami.
“The mangroves were planted to promote bioremediation. Besides, it also helps protect the community from storm surge,” she said.
“Of course, we all know how important mangroves are to the livelihood of fishermen in Manila Bay,” she added.
Communal septic tanks
During the period, two septic tanks were constructed—one in Block 1, Gasangan, along the entrance of Baseco Residence, and in Block 1, Gasangan besides the mangrove area.
The construction of the communal septic tanks will prevent the direct discharge of untreated wastewater into the environment as the households in Baseco Compound, like most households in Metro Manila, are not connected to proper sewer lines.
Maynilad Water Services Inc. has recently conducted siphoning of a septic tank besides the mangrove area, the first after more than a year.
Moreover, on top of the septic tank, a materials recovery facility is being constructed to help improve solid-waste management in the area.
The DENR has also conducted dredging in Baseco Aplaya, which will be continued this year to remove submerged garbage and other debris that pollute the water.
Behavioral change
For Cimatu, the love for the environment should begin at home, as he urged parents to foster behavior and culture change by teaching their children to respect and care for Mother Earth.
“It is high time that parents teach their children about our love for the environment,” Cimatu said in his speech.
Changing people’s attitude toward the environment remains the most difficult part in restoring Manila Bay to its former glory, he said, hence, the need for culture change.
“We need to change the culture of the Filipinos. We need to change our behavior, and this change should start at home,” Cimatu pointed out.
Moving forward
After the one-year campaign, Battle for Manila Bay will move forward to the next level.
“What is happening clearly states that we are moving forward. We are not just trying to clean the waterways, the rivers, the ocean, but cleaning the culture of the Filipino people,” said Benny Antiporda, DENR’s undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units (LGUs) Concerns.
Teaching the young generation how to be responsible citizens, he said, is part of the job.
Defend the environment
“Our main objective is to inculcate in the minds of the children to defend the environment. If you see garbage, pick it up. Put them where they belong,” he said.
“If you have a clean environment, you have no choice but to help maintain it. We are looking forward and coming up with the highest level of awareness when it comes to proper disposal of garbage,” he said.
Two-pronged approach
According to Antiporda, rehabilitating the Manila Bay and other tourism areas in the country is easier said than done. He said the government alone could not do it.
“This [rehabilitation] cannot be successful if we only use the government approach. What we need is the citizen approach. The government will do its job. At the same time, [other stakeholders should] share and care.”
As for defiant LGUs who are reluctant to do their job, Antiporda warned that the DENR would no longer tolerate their inaction.
“It is really hard for us to tell the LGU what to do. But frankly speaking, [they] just [have to] implement the law, if not we will file charges [against them],” he said.
Image credits: DENR-SCIS