The Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Sunday ordered a crackdown on Manila Bay polluters.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu vowed to punish those who pollute the Manila Bay as he called for a concerted effort among all sectors to clean up one of the country’s most polluted water bodies.
He said the department will be more stringent in enforcing laws on solid waste and wastewater, a key part of addressing the worsening pollution problem in the historic bay.
“The DENR is changing its paradigm of enforcement, prioritizing and doing a clean sweep of all dischargers of volume and toxic wastewater, randomizing inspections, imposing holidays on those who have not secured wastewater discharge permits, and raising penalties and surcharges for those who still do not have them after the prescribed amnesty period,” he said.
During the first consultation meeting with Manila Bay stakeholders, he said they came up with plans to help the DENR comply more effectively with the writ of continuing mandamus issued by the Supreme Court in 2008 directing the department and 13 other government agencies to clean up and rehabilitate Manila Bay.
The DENR chief said the rehabilitation of Manila Bay requires a multi-sectoral approach and cultural change in the way people regard the bay.
“Caring for the environment is like brushing your teeth, you have to do it every day,” Cimatu said.
Cimatu said the operational plan for Manila Bay would again make a huge effort to remove illegal structures along the bay and its tributaries, and to relocate people living in danger areas.
“These people are discharging directly into our waterways so it is no surprise that fecal coliform is very high in our urban water bodies,” he said.
With about 30 percent of the country’s population living within the Manila Bay basin and 17 river systems draining into it, Cimatu said it was not surprising the world-famous sunset destination is the country’s “most polluted body of water and an urgent rehabilitation project.”
Citing a 2008 World Bank report, he said the country’s economic losses from neglecting sewage could reach up to P78 billion a year, on top of the losses in ecosystem services and biodiversity.
Apart from this, water-borne diseases are killing up to 55 Filipinos a day, Cimatu said.