Harnessing the Pasig River
Afew weeks ago, media took cognizance of the transformation of the Pasig River from dirty, murky, smelly, dumping area of every kind of trash to one that is livable, rid of dirt and unsightly trash of every kind. While there is still too much to be desired as to the turbidity, color, salinity and even its smell, on the overall we can say – there is life now in the Pasig River. Thanks to the concerted efforts of all the government agencies, private sector and individuals who have devoted time to monitor and effect these changes. It even received an International Award as number one in rehabilitation efforts.
Looking back, blame should not only be to habits and the way of living by our mission areas but also of the big manufacturing plants along the river who thought they can dump at will all their waste into the river when no one is looking. Hello – local government, department of environment and natural resources and even the general public.
But rivers, all over the world have long been recognized as important factor not only on the tourism of the country but also to the livelihood of its people. We don’t have to go far to see how rivers are being managed and used to bring income to the people. In the ASEAN region Bangkok, Thailand for instance leads with their river market, a must to see for tourist coupled by a local river cruise using both their main river and the canals build for irrigation. Vietnam comes next with their Mekong river cruise.
In Europe, who would miss the Seine river cruise in Paris, the Rhine river in Germany and even the Danube in Austria. In Venice, aside from the usual ferry used to bring tourist from the shore to the middle of the island, river taxes are common and used like Grab.
What can we do for the Pasig? Aside from the river cruise that will show case important sites in the metro like the Malacañang Palace and Intramuros, side trips could be made to the Mabini Shrine in Pandacan, probably a duck raising farm somewhere in Taguig or Pateros (in Thailand, they showcase a catfish farm and ask you to feed them by buying their fish meal), and what ever historical sites along the river. Following the template for the famous Looc River Cruise in Bohol, and the short Manila Bay cruise happening every night at Manila Bay, a Pasig River cruise in the future, can feature a native lunch on board when the cruise reaches Laguna de bay. There are of course many creative ways to make this cruise memorable and worthy like a short walking tour to Manila Cathedral and Fort Santiago and the like.
Point it, let us harness the Pasig River. It is not just making it environment friendly but should be a source of livelihood to our people. For instance, a balut-making (including Red Eggs production) could be built adjacent to a Duck Raising farm to let tourist see first hand this amazing livelihood complete with free taste of Balut and Salted Eggs. Then you can have a tourist store where by products can be sold – Potato chips In Salted Egg flavors, light snacks featuring adobong balut, and sourvenir shops about this uniquely Filipino delicacy. In Europe they bring to glass-blowing factories while In Hongkong and Thailand, your city tour will always bring you to a Jewelry manufacturing plant), Create another stop where tourist can see, buy and enjoy local halo-halo and our counterpart to the Thailands Mango and sticky rice with our Suman sa Ibos and Manga (a long time product from Antipolo).
Lastly, if we want to see more progress on these efforts, let us not appoint politicians or their relatives to agencies tasked to do this. The present officials and staff of the Pasig Rehabilitation Commission have done it without so much fan fare. Give them all our support and make the Pasig River famous all over the world. Along side with this, LGUs should have an active participation by continuously educating families along the river, monitoring them and rewarding them for their efforts until the discipline is there.
Get a portion of the Health and Sanitation budget of the Barangay and put it on a separate Pasig River Development program to encourage entrepreneurship along the river.
Yes, the Pasig River can be great again, not only as a center of commerce but a tourist destination and a source of livelihood for our people.