IT was reported over the weekend that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is getting another P1.623 billion in fresh funding to sustain the cleanup of Manila Bay.
The new money is itemized in the DENR’s spending program in the 2022 national budget, according to Rep. Mike Defensor of party-list group Anakalusugan, who briefly served as environment secretary during Arroyo’s presidency.
Defensor bared the additional budget a week after the government reopened Manila Bay’s so-called dolomite beach attraction to the public.
“All told, Congress has earmarked a total of P4.684 billion for the DENR’s operational plan for the Manila Bay Coastal Management Strategy since 2018, to include the P1.553 billion appropriated for this year, and amount meant for 2022,” Defensor said.
‘This can also only be achieved once the bulk of households and establishments in Metro Manila and nearby provinces are hooked up to sewerage systems and wastewater treatment plants with the help of private water concessionaires.’
The operational plan is pursuant to the Supreme Court’s continuing mandamus directing 13 government agencies to restore the waters of the bay to Class B, or make them suitable and safe for public swimming, skin diving and other forms of contact recreation.
Based on the DENR’s water classification table when the mandamus was issued in 2008, Defensor said the fecal coliform level of Class B coastal waters “should not exceed 200 most probable number (MPN) per 100 milliliters (ml). The bay’s extremely high fecal coliform levels that currently run into hundreds of thousands if not millions MPN per 100 ml indicate severe contamination with human toilet waste and the heavy presence of disease-carrying bacteria and viruses.
It is true that the bay’s long-term comprehensive rehabilitation plan calls for the sustained reduction in fecal coliform levels. This can also only be achieved once the bulk of households and establishments in Metro Manila and nearby provinces are hooked up to sewerage systems and wastewater treatment plants with the help of private water concessionaires.
DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu, meanwhile, has a point in saying that maintaining even a small portion of the Bay such as the “dolomite beach” as a model of cleanliness and discipline will go a long way in having a positive impact in the mindset of the public on proper solid waste management.
Cimatu said the public will soon be inspired to practice proper solid waste management because they want to enjoy the dolomite beach for a longer time. We share his hopes on this.
