The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will further intensify its remediation efforts in Manila Bay starting next year to help improve water quality and stop further environmental degradation as so ordered by the Supreme Court (SC).
The DENR is scheduled to meet with stakeholders to discuss measures to reduce the volume of indiscriminately disposed garbage in areas along the bay including untreated wastes from informal settlers that eventually raise the level of coliform bacteria there.
“The objective is to bring down coliform level in Manila Bay,” DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu said.
“The objective is to bring down coliform level in Manila Bay.”
Cimatu highlighted the urgency for action, noting coliform level in Manila Bay already surged to over 300 million most probable number per 100 milliliters (mpn/100 ml).
“Manila Bay is unfit for swimming at present,” the environment chief said.
According to DENR, the safe coliform level is 100 mpn/100ml only.
The environment head aims to lower Manila Bay’s coliform level to an even safer level of less than 100 mpn/100 ml so its water can be truly fit again for swimming and other forms of recreation.
Experts use coliform bacteria as common indicator of water pollution.
Pollution in Manila Bay is linked mainly to land-based human activities including discharge of municipal, industrial and agricultural wastes aside from land runoff.
In 2008, the High Court ordered the DENR and other agencies to clean up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay so waters there can be fit for contact recreation.
The planned drive against pollution in Manila Bay is in accordance with the SC order.
Manila Bay is the premier international gateway to Metro Manila, the country’s political, economic and social center.
Along the bay are coastal areas of Metro Manila as well as Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan and Cavite provinces.
According to the DENR, seven major rivers intersect Manila Bay’s 190 km coastline and those are major sources of pollution.
Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said DENR is coordinating with the Department of the Interior and Local Government regarding informal settlers in areas bordering Manila Bay, so government can relocate them eventually.
“LGUs must no longer tolerate further proliferation of informal settlements,” Antiporda said.
“We’ll file charges against local officials for environmental problems stemming from such settlements in their areas,” the environment official added.
“We’ll file charges against local officials for environmental problems stemming from informal settlements in their areas.”
According to the DENR, informal settlers contribute to pollution as they generally lack sanitary facilities and discharge feces and other wastes directly into the environment.
Republic Act (RA) 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act) tasks LGUs nationwide as front liners in implementing solid waste management (SWM) across respective areas of jurisdiction, the DENR said.
Solid waste “shall refer to all discarded household, commercial waste, non-hazardous institutional and industrial waste, street sweepings, construction debris, agricultural waste, and other non-hazardous/non-toxic solid waste,” according to RA 9003.
SWM is “the discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing, and disposal of solid wastes in a manner that is in accord with the best principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics, and other environmental considerations, and that is also responsive to public attitudes,” RA 9003 reads further.
Measures to reduce garbage dumping and informal settlements’ untreated discharges, including possible use of technologies like silt curtains for containing waste, will form part of the rehabilitation plan for Manila Bay.
Cimatu noted that DENR also aims to use some of its funds to help rehabilitate Manila Bay.
“We have fines paid for violation of environmental laws, so we’ll try to find out if these can be used for the rehabilitation,” he said.
Cimatu expects the plan’s implementation to result in a cleaner, less coliform-tainted Manila Bay by Christmas next year.
“I’m very optimistic this can be done so I hope everyone will join us in this endeavor and hand over Manila Bay to the next generation,” he added.
