Manila, Philippines – Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) welcomes President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s order to clean up Manila Bay.

“The involvement of the President, together with the Supreme Court decision, would definitely encourage more active and effective participation from the different agencies, sectors and local governments that have stakes in Manila Bay,” explains PEMSEA Regional Programme Director Raphael P.M. Lotilla. PEMSEA is a regional program for the East Asian Seas supported by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme.

PEMSEA is looking forward to working with all the agencies concerned in implementing the Operational Plan for Manila Bay. PEMSEA has assisted the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in developing the Manila Bay Coastal Strategy and the Operational Plan, which serve as the roadmap in the management and protection of the Manila Bay.

“Tremendous work has been invested in the Strategy and its Operational Plan by the DENR and the other agencies of government performing various functions relating to the Bay area, as well as by the NGOs and the business sector. The multi-agency, multi-disciplinary, and multi-stakeholder approach in the formulation of these ensured their broad ownership and acceptance,” adds Prof. Lotilla.

The Operational Plan was developed in 2005 by the Manila Bay Environmental Management Project (MBEMP), which PEMSEA supported from 2000-2007. It not only sets the goals but also the objectives for each of the 3 identified areas of concern. Under each objective, the Plan defines the specific activities to be undertaken, the indicators to be used for measuring progress or the lack of it, the timetable for implementation, the responsible agencies, and the supporting policies and laws.

The Operational Plan groups the main issues involved in Manila Bay into three: First is water pollution. Second is the overexploitation of resources, like fisheries, and the degradation of habitats like mangroves, mudflats and forest areas; also included is the degradation of historical, religious, archaeological and unique geological sites in the Manila Bay Area. Third is governance and partnerships, as the complexity of the issues requires coordination among different national agencies and local governments as well as among private sector, NGOs, communities, and government.

Early this year, during the first Manila Bay Coordinating Committee (MBCC) Meeting convened by DENR, various government agencies concerned signed a declaration of commitment in support of achieving the shared vision for the bay.

The order “to clean up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay” certainly applies to the Laguna de Bay-Pasig River-Manila Bay watershed and those of 7 major rivers which drain into Manila Bay. One should note that the Pasig River accounts for 60% of the Bay’s organic matter, while the Bulacan-Meycauayan River accounts for 32%, and the Pampanga River accounts for 5%.