Who does not want to see the world
famous Manila Bay sunset?
The sunset would not be the same if the
bay is so dirty to the point it is already very much visible to the naked eye.
The Manila Bay rehabilitation under the
Duterte administration started after its successful rehabilitation of Boracay
island, which led to its six months closure.
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| Manila Bay's Sunset (photo by Manila Bulletin) |
The Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) made the assurance to lawmakers that the Manila Bay
Rehabilitation Program is in full swing, with a probability that the once
polluted body of water would be safe for swimming activities by the end of the
year.
This was the
statement given by Secretary Roy Cimatu during the agency’s presentation of its
proposed PHP25.5 billion budget for 2020.
The DENR’s budget for next year is 16
percent higher than the PHP21.959 billion it got for 2019.
For 2020, the Manila Bay
Rehanbilitation project would entail the budget of around PHP1.5 billion.
Environment Undersecretary Juan Miguel
Cuna said the Manila Bay rehabilitation is currently in its first phase, which
is the cleanup and water quality monitoring.
The DENR official, whom Cimatu said is
his “ground commander” in the ongoing battle, said the weekly cleanup mandated
by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to all barangay
is regularly undertaken.
“We are strictly are monitoring the
compliance to this directive along with DILG,” Cuna told the lawmakers in the
budget hearing.
Different
government agencies are coordinating with the DENR in this major endeavor -
Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH) and the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) to ensure
compliance with sewage treatment facilities by the different establishments so
that fecal coliform levels are strictly monitored.
“Since the Battle for Manila Bay was
launched last January 27, we have witnessed a lot of improvement in terms of
solid waste that we see floating in the bay,” Cuna said.
“We inspect all esteros flowing to
Manila Bay. In fact the Secretary assigned particular undersecretaries,
assistant secretaries, and directors to oversee particular rivers and esteros,
and we have been coordinating with the barangays and other agencies to ensure
that they are clean and to stop the loading of the pollution primarily,” he
added.
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