Finally, a master plan for Manila Bay

THERE is so much history and beauty associated with Manila Bay. Spanish explorer Miguel Lopez de Legaspi sailed into the bay in 1565 and by 1571 he had established the Spanish city of Manila which, in the next 350 years, served as the center of Spanish civil, military, religious, and commercial activity in the islands.

It was also in Manila Bay where the Spanish colonial era ended, when in 1898, American Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish fleet in what has been called one of the most decisive naval battles in history. It marked the start of the era of America’s world leadership which continues to this day.

Today, the lands around the bay, from Bataan in the west to Bulacan and Pampanga in the north, to Metro Manila in the east, to Cavite in the south, are the probably the most developed and productive part of the country. At the entrance to the bay are several islands, the most famous of which is Corregidor, where Filipino and American forces made a stand against Japanese invading forces in World War II. From Manila, the sunset over Manila Bay is today a famous tourist attraction.

There is indeed so much going for Manila Bay. What is not generally known, however, is that Manila Bay is so highly polluted that in 2009, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision ordering 13 government agencies to “clean up, rehabilitate, and preserve Manila Bay, restore and maintain its waters, make them fit for swimming, skin-diving, and other forms of contact recreation.”

The fact, however, is that today swimming is banned in Manila Bay because of the pollution. All over Metro Manila, rivers and streams flow into the Pasig River which in turn flows into the bay. In most of the area, the wastes from factories and houses are dumped into this network of rivers and streams, so that Manila Bay has become “one big sewer,” in the words of former Manila Mayor and Environment Secretary Lito Atienza. The Supreme Court in 2008 issued a series of instructions to 13 government agencies led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to clean up and rehabilitate the bay. Several administrations, however, have not been able to make a dent on the problem.

At the start of the Duterte administration, the President moved to clean up Laguna de Bay of its thousands of fishpens that contribute to the pollution that flows down the Pasig to Manila Bay. Then last week, the government took one big step that may finally solve the age-old problem of pollution in the bay. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) signed an agreement with the Netherlands, through its Ambassador Marion Derckx, for the hiring of consultants who will draft a Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan.

The Dutch are known the world over for their knowledge and experience in protecting their vulnerable coastal areas from the ever-advancing sea. With the agreement, they will help in crafting a master plan for the sustainable development of the entire bay area, including coastal protection works, solid waste and water resources management, transport, and reclamation. The Dutch government will contribute a grant of ₱75 million, to add to the ₱250 million that the Philippine government will provide for the master plan.

The way we have polluted the bay is such a shame. We realize that the master plan is just the beginning but we have high hopes that finally we are making a real effort to clean up our historic and beautiful Manila Bay.