The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will tighten its campaign to clean up Manila Bay.
Aside from assuring the agency’s action against solid waste pollution in Manila Bay, DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu will be inspecting sewage outfalls and pipes that lead to the bay.
The inspection aims to help DENR and other authorities trace sources of untreated wastewater discharging into Manila Bay so corrective measures can be undertaken to prevent dirty effluent from further reaching and polluting this water body, said DENR information officer Robby Ceballo.
The inspection aims to help DENR and other authorities trace sources of untreated wastewater discharging into Manila Bay.”
“It’s part of efforts to rehabilitate Manila Bay,” she said.
Outfall is a waste stream’s discharge point into a body of water.
Manila Bay’s rehabilitation is DENR’s “next big target” after the rehabilitation of top tourist destination Boracay Island.
“Manila Bay’s rehabilitation is DENR’s next big target after Boracay Island.”
“Although Manila Bay is known for having one of the most beautiful sunsets, its waters are considered the most polluted in the country due to domestic sewage, toxic industrial effluents from factories and shipping operations and leachate from garbage dumps, among others,” an earlier statement from the DENR read.
Cimatu intends to restore the water in Manila Bay to a level fit for swimming and other forms of contact recreation.
Such target is in line with the Supreme Court’s 2008 order for DENR and other agencies to clean up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay.
Aside from the DENR, also ordered by the Court to rehabilitate Manila Bay were the Department of Agriculture, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Budget and Management, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, Local Water Utilities Administration, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police-Maritime Group and the Philippine Ports Authority.
