For the nth time, Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Monday reminded the public, especially Manileños, not to swim in the polluted waters of Manila Bay.
Instead, Estrada said Manileños can use the city government’s well-maintained public swimming pools free of charge.
“Time and again, we’ve been constantly telling everyone that is not safe to swim in Manila Bay. You’ll contract many diseases there,” the mayor said.
“Here in Manila, we have five public pools. They can go there and swim all they want,” he added.
Estrada said he was recently briefed by the Manila Health Department about the water quality in the Manila Bay. As in the past years, the bay still has a high amount of coliform or bacteria found in the feces of warm-blooded animals, the mayor noted.
Garbage and toxic chemicals in the bay may also cause rashes and other skin infections, and in worse cases dysentery, diarrhea, and viral and bacterial gastroenteritis, he added.
Estrada said three large drainage pipes from Ermita regularly flush out its contents into Manila Bay, while refuse from Cavite and nearby towns and cities also empty out in the waters near Roxas Boulevard. Passing ships also bring more waste materials to the bay’s toxic waters, he added.
Despite an existing city ordinance banning swimming in any part of Manila Bay, many residents continue to swim in its polluted waters as the summer season approaches, Estrada noted.
MHD chief Dr. Benjamin Yson encouraged the public to go instead to the five public swimming pools opened by the city government.
Except for District 2, each district of Manila has its own public swimming pool. They are at the Tondo Sports Complex, Andalucia Gym, Dapitan Sports Complex, JCC Sports Complex, and Bagong Buhay swimming pool along Pedro Gil Street, Manila Sports Council coordinator Alex Cortez said.
Cortez said these pools are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.
To make a reservation, he said families or groups should go to the MASCO office with a barangay certificate and a handwritten request letter. Walk-ins are only allowed during Saturdays and Sundays.
“We have professional lifeguards on duty all the time and we clean our pools extensively every day, plus, these are all for free,” Cortez assured.