Restore Ilog Pasig

The once navigable Pasig River flows through the city, dividing it into two sections, with Intramuros (the old Spanish walled city) and Ermita (the site of most government buildings and tourist hotels) on the south bank, and the “newer” section (which includes the commercial district, many congested slum areas, and the Chinese quarter in Binondo) on the northern bank. Malacañang Palace, the presidential mansion, is located along Pasig River.

Before pollution virtually extinguished aquatic life, the whole 25 km of the Pasig River between Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay served as a habitat for 25 varieties of fish and 13 different types of aquatic plant. Today, there are only six species of fish and two types of plants left that can tolerate the polluted water.

By the 1980’s there was no more river tourism, fishing and swimming were no longer permissible.

Ilog Pasig became a dirty, stinking open-air sewer.

The PRRP aims to clean up the heavily polluted river to spur tourism growth, carve out new transportation routes and lure foreign investors. A major part of the cleaning up entails the removal of structures located within the 10-meter easement along the riverbanks. This includes the houses of approximately 10,000 urban poor families living along the Pasig River. PRRP specifically aims to maintain the river’s Class C rating for a body of water based on government standards. A Class C body of water is habitable to aquatic life, suitable for secondary sports like boating and sufficient for industrial use after treatment.

In 1992, Pasig River was declared biologically dead.

Mang Dodong, a resident of Ilog Pasig for 10 years and a member of Ugnayang Lakas ng mga Apektadong Pamilya sa Baybaying Ilog Pasig (ULAP) says they were not given proper relocation sites. The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and National Housing Authority treated them like dirt who must be collected from the danger zones. Their life has only become complex and too harsh instead of becoming better contrary to what the government has promised.

The population density and concentration of industries have a significant impact on the water quality and environmental conditions in and around the Pasig River system.

River were lined by squatter colonies consisting of approximately 12,000 households. About 2,000 families lived in houses on stilts or under the bridges, in sub-human conditions, where they presented a danger to themselves and to the vessels using the river. These settlements had no sanitary facilities and their liquid and solid wastes are discharged straight

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