Going Green

Duterte tells Manila Bay hotels to install proper water treatment systems or else

President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened closure to hotels near Manila Bay without proper water treatment systems. The warning came after his order to rehabilitate the polluted body of water.

In a speech before barangay officials in Pasay City, Duterte said he had ordered Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and General Eduardo Año to start cleaning Manila Bay. The president then gave his warning to hotels near the bay to improve their waste disposal measures.

Pollution: a long-standing problem of Manila Bay

Manila Bay is one of the many Philippine locations in dire need of rehabilitation. According to the DENR, extreme levels of coliform — a disease-causing bacteria — is present in the 2,000-square kilometer body of water at 333 million most probably numbers per milliliters (MPN/100ml).

Cimatu said the agency’s long-term goal is to reduce the coliform level to 100 MPN/100ml or low enough for the bay to be safe for swimming.

DENR said P47-billion will be allocated for the bay’s clean-up.

Apart from the DENR, other agencies will also be involved in the clean-up as mandated by a Supreme Court ruling in 2008. Among the agencies included are the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Department of Education (DepEd), and Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

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