Manila Bay water worsens in 10 years — Senate panel

MANILA, Philippines — Ten years after the Supreme Court (SC) ordered 13 national and local government agencies to clean up Manila Bay, its water quality has worsened, Sen. Cynthia Villar said yesterday.

The Senate committee on environment and natural resources chaired by Villar held an inquiry to review the measures implemented by government agencies tasked to rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay since the SC issued the order in 2008.

Villar castigated the officials of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) for allowing the proliferation of informal settlers along the bay area as well as the Philippine Reclamation Authority and Department of Environment and Natural Resources for giving the go-signal for massive reclamation projects.

Villar said tests showed that the water quality of Manila Bay deteriorated due to informal settlers, who dump their waste directly into the bay.

“A decade after the SC ordered the cleanup, there is still no indication that the quality of the water of Manila Bay has significantly improved,” she said.

“Manila Bay is a historical landmark. It is known in the world because of its breathtaking sunset. Over 300,000 fishermen depend on it for livelihood. We owe it to our children to rehabilitate and preserve it so that they will continue to reap its benefits,” Villar added.

She said private and government organizations have been conducting cleanups of the bay but these have been useless.

Villar noted that the government has provided resettlement sites for the informal settlers but nothing has been done to relocate them.

She said she received reports that some middle level PPA officials were receiving money from the informal settlers.