Cleaning Estero de Paco

There is a political advertisement being shown nowadays that asks every individual if he or she has taken a bath in a sea of garbage. For many people, the idea is absurd. Who would have been immersing themselves in discarded wastes? Why does it ask the people? It hints at a simple question but needs a corresponding weighty answer.

True enough, our major cities have seas of garbage. Take the case of the “biologically dead” Pasig River. American architect David Burnham once compared the Pasig River with the Bay of Naples in Paris and the canals in Venice. The water was clear and immaculate. There was a sign of life under it. We had a river that boasted our country’s gifted natural resources. It was indeed the lifeline of our nation. But the used to be considered cleanest river in the country became a sea of nightmare when heap of junks have been continuously dumped on it. It has been an inconvenient truth that the river proves to be a world-class naturally dead body of water because of its degrading state.

Some private groups and organizations along with the government are doing some initiatives to provide real solutions to this environmental difficulty. The ABS-CBN Foundation, headed by managing director Gina Lopez, spearheads this corporate social responsibility with the vision of bringing back the Pasig River to a Class C type of watercourse where people can swim and marine species can live.

One of the projects the foundation is currently doing, along with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other private organizations and companies, is the relocation of informal settlers along Estero de Paco in Manila through the Kapit-Bisig Pasa sa Ilog Pasig program.

The Estero de Paco is one of the portions of the Pasig River which needs considerable treatment and rejuvenation. Aside from the garbage coming from the settlers, solid wastes from oil depots have also been dumped on. It has been found out by the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) that the estero has the highest concentration of wastes and other pollutants. The foundation is also gearing forward to target the biggest violations of companies that have been illicitly contributing to the river’s chaotic condition. There are corresponding punishments to those proven violators.

There were 4,049 families living along the Pasig River. In Manila, there were 2,891 informal settlers and 1,120 of it live at the Estero de Paco. In the data culled from the PRRC’s study, there is an indication that the major source of water pollution in the river are domestic wastes (65%), more than twice the degree of industrial wastes with 30%. These domestic wastes come from slum dwellers along the river banks.

The voluntary relocation is being done in order to lessen the solid waste coming from the informal settlers and to concentrate on the river’s remediation. Also, there is a discovery of methane gas concentration in some portions of the river due to the long submersion of solid wastes, which is harmful to the settlers’ health and safety.

The families from the three-kilometer stretch along the estero are being relocated in the program’s 107-hectare official resettlement site in Calauan, Laguna through ABS-CBN’s Bayan ni Juan project. Housing units are being given to them. They are also being trained for some livelihood alternatives such as planting crops, welding, basket making, cellphone and equipment repairing, massaging and other vocational courses from TESDA. The foundation also renovated the existing school in the relocation site as well as the wet market and a basketball court. If a family successfully complied with all the requirements authorized by the National Housing Authority (NHA) for the relocation, each of them will be given one sack of rice and grocery items good for one week. They are also given free medical checkups and counseling services. The Kapit-Bisig gives rise to a seven-year program to clean the target areas and give the families a better place to live in.

Meanwhile, the oil companies are opening their depots to a third party independent risk assessor to certify their compliance in controlling pollution and securing safety measures. Also, the Estero de Paco is now having its major changes as it shows more unadulterated water with much lesser solid wastes, in which the foundation keeps on doing away with. It is also free from the sources of garbage as it steadily gives signs of anticipated significant results.

It’s not just certain people are responsible to take actions towards the rehabilitation of the Pasig River. We are all responsible to do our own duties as citizens of this nation. Our collaborative effort is what our nature needs. The Pasig River is our lifeline. It symbolizes us. It shows how we, Filipinos, take care of our environment. It is a reflection of the values we acquire from time to time. It is awful to see people taking a bath in a sea of garbage but there is nothing shameful than seeing ourselves contributing to these environmental degradation. Just open your eyes and vice versa.

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Story by: Dennis Amata
Photos: Dennis Amata