The Pasig River, through the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), bagged the inaugural 2018 Asia RiverPrize given by the International River Foundation (IRF) during the 21st International River symposium held in Sydney, Australia, on October 16.
The 27-kilometer Pasig River beat the other finalist Yangtze River of China, which was represented by the Asian Development Bank.
In announcing the winner during the gala dinner, the IRF said the judges were really impressed with the scale of the problem the Pasig River faced and the scale of the response initiated by the PRRC.
“Critical to the success of the story was bringing the community, around 18,000 people, to decent housing and transforming these communities and their lives into environmentally responsible citizens,” the IRF said before the announcement of the winner.
The IRF recognizes and rewards organizations that are making a difference through effective river-basin restoration and management programs.
Having won the 2018 Asia RiverPrize award, the Pasig River received widespread global recognition, which can build new partnerships, provide opportunities for exchange of knowledge and best practices, and open doors for international support.
“One of the five critical criteria in the determination of the winner was leadership, which we attribute to the leadership of our beloved President Rodrigo R. Duterte. It was PRRD’s [Duterte’s initials] leadership that united both the public and private sectors into this shared mission of protecting the Pasig River and improving the lives of the communities around it with strong political will,” said PRRC Executive Director Jose Antonio “Ka Pepeton” E. Goitia.
“This is a global recognition for President Duterte and every Filipino river warrior. This is the fruit of giving our heart to Pasig River, that is why we have to continue our programs,” he added partly in Filipino.
IRF, on its web site, noted that Pasig River was declared biologically dead in the 1990s due to persistent pollution caused by population growth and industrial development along its riverbanks.
However, PRRC and its partners in river restoration and management efforts have effectively brought the Pasig River back to life.
PRRC’s efforts, including quality projects, programs, activities, and advocacies in easement recovery, riverbank development, waste and water quality management, and public awareness brought the river back to life.
From 1999 to 2017, the PRRC resettled 18,719 families living along the riverbanks to decent homes, dismantled 376 encroaching private structures, established 37,471.68 linear meters of environmental preservation areas, developed 17 of its 47 identified tributaries, diverted almost 22 million kilograms of solid waste and transformed communities into environmentally responsible citizens.
“This has resulted in significant water-quality improvement, as well as the revitalization and development of the Pasig River system,” IRF said on the web site.