Parañaque River cleanup a long-awaited move

MANILA, Philippines - Mayor Florencio Bernabe said Friday that the clean-up and rehabilitation of the 11-kilometer Parañaque River has been on the drawing board for the past 10 years.

He sad it was only recently that the project was able to start with the donation of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) of a P50-million dredging equipment and the purchase by the Parañaque City government of a P17 million mobile excavator or a “spider.”

Meanwhile, according to Manuel Erni, president of the Save the Parañaque River Foundation, the rehabilitation of the Parañaque River was tagged as a priority project by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Erni said a key factor in the rehabilitation effort is the continuing education of the public on the proper care and use of the river.

“The rehabilitation effort will take a long time. We need to educate residents that the Parañaque River is not their dumping ground or their garbage can,” he said.

Erni also said that a study conducted with the help of the University of the Philippines Engineering Department showed that the Parañaque River is now heavily silted.

According to Erni, dredging of the Parañaque River is now a priority to make the river deep enough to be navigable.

Roland Bernabe, head of the Parañaque River clean-up drive, also said they are also cleaning up the Freedom Island, which is off Manila Bay.

He said Freedom Island serves as a sanctuary for migratory birds from Russia.

“It (island) is full of trash. As of today, more than 4,000 sacks of trash were already removed. Before we cannot even go there because it was stinky,” he said.

Bernabe said the rehabilitation of Freedom Island will also attract tourists, especially bird watchers.

“If there is trash, there will be no tourists. So the mayor has embarked on this project to clean it up. Once it is cleaned, it will attract tourists and tourism would mean livelihood for Parañaque residents,” Bernabe said.   – Mike Frialde