The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is eyeing the rehabilitation of Balili River in Baguio City, which it said was worse than Manila Bay.
Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Unit Concerns Benny Antiporda said the river has a high coliform level that is even worse than that of the Manila Bay.
He, along with the other officials from the central office, inspected the city’s 33-year-old sewerage treatment plant as part of the planned rehabilitation of the country’s summer capital.
Antiporda said he was alarmed after finding out that the Balili River, to which the treated waters of the sewerage treatment plant drains, has severely deteriorated.
Data from the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau in the Cordillera Administrative Region showed that the river’s fecal coliform level was at 1.6 trillion most probable number per 100 milliliters (mpn/100ml).
“This is far worse than Manila Bay which holds a record of 35 million mpn/100ml,” Antiporda said.
Earlier, the DENR ordered the temporary closure of Irisan dump, also in Baguio City, after finding out during a surprise inspection it was operating as an open dump, which is a violation of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.