The estimated cost of cleaning the Pasig River is around P200 billion, and both the National Economic and Development Authority and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have said this could still be a flagship project of the Duterte administration.
AIIB’s Philippine representative Rolando Macasaet said in a forum during the Philippine Business Conference last week that the multilateral lender could finance the Pasig River rehabilitation if the government submits a proposal.
Two-hundred billion pesos for a clean Pasig River is well worth the money but, first things first, let us kick out all of the Pasig River’s polluters.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the same thing: Putting a stop to the pollution of the Pasig River should be a prerequisite before the government pushes through with its rehabilitation. Otherwise, it will just be a waste of money. He said stopping pollution does not require financing, only political will.
We agree. There have been earnest efforts to clean up the Pasig River during previous administrations. For instance, in 2013, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), the agency mandated to preserve, rehabilitate and manage the river as per Executive Order 54, launched a P50-million mangrove-planting project along the banks of the river to improve its water quality. There were also the DENR’s “Adopt-an-Estero” project and the “Piso Para sa Pasig” campaign led by former First Lady Amelita Ramos.
All these and other laudable projects contributed positively to the cleanup of the Pasig River. But any kind of rehabilitation would only be partially successful for as long as the government cannot relocate the factories and the squatters who keep dumping their wastes in the river.
In general, the government’s enforcement of environmental standards against water pollution, specifically those caught dumping industrial effluents and wastes into our waters, has been relegated to the payment of modest fines, if at all.
Take for instance the P150,000 fine recently imposed by the DENR against the Philippine Ecology System Corp., which was found polluting Manila Bay, a token penalty that was promptly settled by the polluter that was allowed to resume its operations.
Or remember Glenn Defense, the United States Navy contractor who dumped toxic waste into Subic Bay in October 2013? After all the media brouhaha, did it undertake a cleanup and pay for damage caused by its operations?
The government must stop water pollution at all costs. It must strictly implement water-quality regulations targeted at industries operating near the Pasig River, the Manila Bay, the Laguna de Bay and our other water bodies. It must have a better monitoring system to ensure compliance of water standards and other environmental laws.
It is to their own benefit that businesses install and run proper wastewater-treatment facilities. If they can recycle and process their water cleanly, their water consumption would decrease, and they can reduce their bills. Better environmental practices would also give businesses a better public image, which can only boost their bottom line.
A clean Pasig River would surely improve the quality of life in Metro Manila and raise the value of the properties along the riverbanks. A study commissioned by the PRRC in 2012 showed that total benefits of a clean Pasig River could reach up to P23.94 billion. Benefits to residents include total land value, which could reach P22.45 billion in 20 years; some P218.4 million in savings from temporary flooding relocation; P270.86 million in recreational value; and P998.27 million in health savings. The government could generate some P561.33 million in land taxes and around P801.9 million in real-property tax for buildings.
Rather than being a national embarrassment, a clean Pasig River can be a rallying point for urban renewal and a shining example for other waterway- restoration projects around the country.
But, again, all rehabilitation efforts would come to naught if we cannot stop the polluters. Let’s stop dirtying the river before we start cleaning it.