Pasig River rehab agency: Postponing rehab will kill Manila Bay
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc should join the government’s effort to rehabilitate Manila Bay instead of calling to postpone it, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission said Wednesday.
The seven Makabayan solons on Tuesday filed a resolution, urging the government to suspend the rehabilitation of the polluted waterway until a “comprehensive and holistic” study of the project’s socioeconomic impact on the marginalized sectors has been “diligently” carried out.
The call for postponement, according to allied fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Pamamalakaya are concerns over planned reclamation projects, particularly in Bacoor, Cavite, that it said could displace thousands of families "and kill the mussel (tahong) industry in the coastal town."
In a statement earlier this week, PAMALAKAYA called for a moratorium on reclamation projects. The call for a moratorium was not on coastal cleanup.
But Jose Antonio Goitia, executive director of PRRC—an agency under the Office of the President—said that the rehabilitation of Manila Bay cannot postponed. The Pasig River flows into the Manila Bay and, at times, into Laguna de Bay.
“Postponement of the rehabilitation can never be an option because it will surely lead to the death of Manila Bay and the Pasig River as well as to the prolonged exposure of the informal settler families to inhumane condition,” Goitia said.
He added: “Instead, we respectfully call for them (Makabayan bloc) to join us in the ‘Battle for Manila Bay.’”
The Department of the Interior and Local Government earlier said that the rehabilitation of Manila Bay cannot be suspended because the once pristine waterway is in critical condition.
“Actually, the bay is in ICU (intensive care unit). We cannot afford an additional day of delay. Giving in to Makabayan will only make matters much worse,” DILG Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya said.
Goitia: Relocation of informal settlers a top priority
In filing the resolution, the lawmakers lamented that the rehabilitation program could be a “prelude” to 43 reclamation projects, which would lead to the displacement of some 300,000 informal settlers living near Manila Bay.
But Goita noted that the relocation of informal settlers is a “top priority” in the process of rehabilitating not only the Manila Bay but also the Pasig River and other waterways in Metro Manila.
“Their concern about the displacement of the informal settler families is unfounded since government agencies strictly adhere to President Duterte’s ‘no demolition without relocation’ order,” the PRRC executive director said.
He added: “Said families have long been living in danger given their high exposure to waterborne diseases and their inhumane conditions have made them vulnerable to committing illegal activities.”
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu earlier said that a plan to relocate informal settlers would have to be finalized before they are moved out of their current settlements.
PAMALAKAYA stressed that relocating the families families to far-flung settlements away from their source of livelihood would only compel them to return to their former communities.
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