President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tapped the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) under Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar as lead agency in a massive clean-up and rehabilitation of the historic Pasig River in Metro Manila.
The President issued Executive Order 35 naming the DHSUD as head of the Inter-Agency Council for the Pasig River Urban Development program. Acuzar, along with key housing officials, has started inspecting key areas along the Pasig River and laid out plans on how to implement the President’s order.
He checked on the portions of the historical river in Manila, particularly at the back of the Central Post Office, which is being eyed as pilot area for mixed-use development and tourism spot, and Parola Compound for the affected informal settler families.
“We already have plans, and we will soon present it to the Office of the President and before the council for approval,” he said. Rio N. Araja
According to Acuzar, he has already met with Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Romando Artes, vice chair of the IAC-PRUD, to discuss the council’s initial steps to put the order’s provisions into actionable strategies for the member-agencies.
Under EO35, the secretaries of Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Tourism, Department of Transportation, Department of Finance and Department of Budget and Management; National Historical Commission of the Philippines; Philippine Ports Authority; Philippine Coast Guard; Laguna Lake Development Authority and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone were named as council members.
The National Housing Authority will serve as the secretariat.
The IAC-PRUD is tasked primarily to “facilitate and ensure the full rehabilitation of the banks along the Pasig River water system and nearby water systems in order to provide alternative transportation, propel economic opportunities, and boost tourism activities.”
The council is directed to formulate a Pasig River Urban Development Plan which shall serve as the blueprint for the full rehabilitation of the river with the end view of realizing its full potential for mixed-use development, transportation, recreation, tourism and sustainable human settlement, taking into consideration its historic and cultural value.
It shall “study, prepare and implement a comprehensive shelter plan for massive relocation of informal settler families and other unauthorized or unlawful occupants along the Pasig River banks, including identification of suitable relocation sites; strategies for economic and social integration for ISFs, and long-term solutions to address ongoing migration into the Pasig River banks.
The EO also authorizes the IAC-PRUD to “accept grants, contributions, donations, endowments, bequests, or gifts in cash or in kind from local and foreign sources in support of the formulation and implementation of the Pasig River Urban Development Plan, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations. Rio N. Araja