DMCI Homes Adopts an Estero, aims to bring engineering solutions to Pasong Tamo river

MANILA, Philippines - More and more people are waking up to the fact that esteros are crucial to the health of the watershed, which in turn determines the quality and quantity of water within a given area. And with climate change triggering greater volumes of precipitation into waterways already choking with debris, wastes, contaminants, and silt, reviving our country’s esteros represents a vital step to protect the population, especially riverside communities.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources identified a 1.63-km stretch of the Pasong Tamo river as one of the esteros to be resuscitated under its Adopt-An-Estero program, which is a flagship project of DENR Secretary Ramon Paje. Soon after the inception of Adopt-An-Estero, it was highlighted for immediate implementation under the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) director Juan Miguel Cuna and piloted in the EMB-National Capital Region by regional director Roberto Sheen. In 2011, director Sheen was able to encourage and convince several establishments to join and participate in DENR’s estero cleanup program and since then, Secretary Paje himself has signed 17 Memoranda of Agreement for execution by the parties concerned.

For the Pasong Tamo River project, the MOA signing was presided by Secretary Ramon Paje, formalizing commitments among stakeholders including the DENR through EMB, the local government of Quezon City , Laguna Lake Development Authority, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, DMCI Project Developer’s Inc. (DMCI Homes), Rotary Club of Diliman Silangan, and barangay leaders. This joint initiative between a builder-developer and Rotary Club is the first of its kind for DENR’s Adopt-An-Estero Program.