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The Pasig River is finally showing significant improvement 18 years
after it was declared biologically dead, the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources said Thursday.
The department revealed this finding following
an inspection tour of the passageway on Wednesday.
“Its water used to be black, but now, it has
been turning green. Also, it smells much more pleasant now,” said
Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.
The DENR, however, acknowledged the fact that
marine experts believe that there is still much to be done to make
the 27 kilometer-long river clean again.
“Restoring the river to its pure condition
remains a Herculean task since it needs cooperation from everyone,
from the local officials, legislators, nongovernment organizations,
civic groups, media and, most important of all, the citizenry,”
Atienza said.
Atienza also noted that efforts to clean the
Pasig River must also involve the dismantling of fish pens over at
Laguna Lake and relocating illegal settlers along the riverbanks.
The Pasig River runs in the cities of Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong,
Pasig and Taguig, and the municipality of Taytay, Rizal.
“The food for the fishes pollutes the lake’s
water which flows to the Pasig River, while the illegal settlers’
waste accounts for 65 percent of the river’s garbage,” Atienza,
a former Manila Mayor, said. “I would seek the help of Housing and
Urban Development Coordinating Council chairman and Vice President
Noli De Castro in providing them relocation sites.”
Senator Pia Cayetano, who joined Atienza in the
inspection alongside fellow Senator Loren Legarda, Bantay Kalikasan
President Gina Lopez and other members of the media, also expressed
her concern of the river.
“Its (Pasig River) rehabilitation calls for
the strict law enforcement, I would immediately convene the
oversight committee on water and solid waste management to discuss
its current status,” Cayetano said.
Former First Lady Amelita “Ming” Ramos first
initiated the rehabilitation and conservation of the Pasig River in
1993 with campaigns such as Piso Para sa Pasig, Sagip Pasig Movement
and Riverwatch. In 1999, the government also established the Pasig
River Rehabilitation Commission, which aims to transform the river
into a revitalized waterway suitable for both aquatic life and
water-based activities.
-- Ira Karen Apanay
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