DENR, LGUs step up rehab of Manila Bay

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and partners from the national and local government have stepped up efforts to rehabilitate the Central Luzon portion of Manila Bay.

The Region 3 part covers 2,324 barangays in 94 cities and municipalities of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Tarlac.

“We have already started with the profiling of the major rivers in Central Luzon, namely, the Talisay River in Bataan, Digidig-Carranglan River in Nueva Ecija, and the Rio Chico, Parua, O’Donnell, Lucung, and Balog-Balog Rivers in Tarlac,” DENR Regional Director Francisco Milla Jr. said.

The agency has likewise established river councils in Bacolor and Sasmuan in Pampanga and has deployed trash boats in Abucay and Balanga in Bataan; Calumpit, Malolos, Bulakan, Obando, Hagonoy, and Bocaue in Bulacan; and Lubao, Sasmuan, and Masantol in Pampanga.

No less than Raul Mamac, head of DENR in Bataan, personally handed over Wednesday a trash boat to local officials in Samal to be used in cleaning Manila Bay.

“The Department of the Interior and Local Government and our Environmental Management Bureau trained 17 local government units and assisted them in crafting their respective 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP),” Millasaid.

Those with an SWMP include Dinalupihan and Pilar in Bataan; Victoria and La Paz in Tarlac; Laur, Aliaga, and San Jose in Nueva Ecija; Angeles, Mabalacat, San Fernando, Guagua, and Sta. Rita in Pampanga; and San Miguel, San Rafael, Sta. Maria, Plaridel, and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.

DENR likewise inked a Memorandum of Agreement with the Pampanga State Agricultural University for an extension program on community service particularly on waste management and cleanup drives in barangays that traverse the Pampanga River.

“Under the National Greening Program, about 9,648 hectares were planted with forest species such as narra, gmelina, and mahogany as well as fruit trees including rambutan and guyabano,” Milla added.

“This year, we will implement a sustained information, education, and communication campaign for when the citizen is informed on proper solid and liquid waste disposal and participate in habitat rehabilitation and resettlement of informal settlers, the problem of Manila Bay pollution is also addressed,” he said. (Mar T. Supnad)