Pasig River Pollution

The Pasig river is one of the major rivers in the Philippines and, together
with Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay, form the most important natural
water system in Metro Manila. The river is 27 kilometers long and
passes through the urban areas of the metropolis from its upstream
portion west of Laguna de Bay, moving downstream to east of Manila
Bay. It traverses four cities (Manila, Mandaluyong, Makati and Pasig)
and two municipalities of Rizal (Taguig and Taytay). It is relatively
straight in the upstream portion from Laguna de Bay but follows a
winding course downstream through the city of Manila, where the most
prominent bend is visible at Punta, Sta. Ana. Just below the Ayala
Bridge lies the Isla de Convalescencia, the only island found in the river.
Upstream from Laguna de Bay, the river flows through the Napindan
Channel, joins the Marikina River at the boundary of Pasig and Taguig,
links farther downstream with San Juan River in Mandaluyong, and
finally flows out to Manila Bay. In addition to these tributaries, about 19
creeks or esteros directly discharge into the river. To the north the
largest of these esteros are the Esteros De Vitas, which drains directly
into Manila Bay and the Estero de Binondo, which passes through the
busy commercial district of Binondo. To its south are several esteros in
the Manila area such as Estero Provisor, Estero de Tanque, Estero de
Paco which links with Estero de Tripa de Galina in Makati, Estero de
Concordia, Estero de Pandacan and at least three other unidentified
creeks.
The entire Pasig River Basin is divided into six sub-basins (PRRP,
1991). These are the a) Napindan-Taguig River Bsin, b) Marikina river
Basin, c) upstream and d) downstream portions of the Pasig River, e)
San Juan River Basin and f) Laguna de Bay. Because of the
interrelatedness of these ecosystems, the degradation of any of these

basins would severely affect the health of Pasig River and other
contiguous basins.
The influx of population brought about by industrialization and
urbanization of Metro Manila resulted in the transformation of Pasig
River into a sewage and industrial effluents depot. Pasig River is
shimmering with oil slicks, has unpleasant odor,d ark colored water,
hyacinth blooms, and floating garbage and feces. The river is also
known to have high organic loads and contaminate with heavy metals,
pesticides, nitrates, and phosphates (NPCC, 1981 & 1985; RRS, 1991
& 1998). The presence of these materials has degraded the water
quality of Pasig River consequently upsetting its ecological balance.
Souces of these undesirable materials are domestic liquid wastes,
industrial wastes, agricultural activities in parts of Marikina and Taguig,
solid wastes, and oil discharges from oil depots and watercrafts.
Understanding the sources, interactions and effects of these
undesirable materials on water quality of Pasig River is the key for
controlling the inputs of said materials to the river. (Marietta LabraEspia-The Pasig river caring for a dying ecosystem 2001)
The post-World War II period saw the uncontrolled industrialization of
Manila and its suburbs. In 1950, Congress enacted the Civil Code of
the Philippines, which contained provisions on land use and pollution.
However, this law was largely ineffectual. This prompted Congress to
enact Republic Act No. 3931, which created the NAtioanl Water and Air
Pollution Commission (NWAP) as the primary agency responsible for
enforcing reasonable standards of air and water quality. This later
became the National Pollution control Commission (NPCC) under the
Presidential Decree (PD) No. 984, which gave it more regulatory
powers.
The pioneering law specifically designed to rehabilitate the Pasig River
came in 1973 when two PDs were issued in succession. The frist, PD

No. 274, pertained to the preservation, beautification, improvement anf

gainful utilization of the PAsig River, providing for the regulation and
control of pollution of the river and its banks in order to enhance its
development, thereby maximizing its utilization for socio-economic
purposes.
The second law, PD No. 281, created the Pasig River Development
Council (PRDC), whose job to oversee the implementation of the Pasig
River Development (PRDP). It was concerned mainly with the
relocation of informal families and dredging of silted portions of the river,
relocation of two large sewers in Manila Bay and construction of
concrete railings along the banks of the river. It was abolished on July
22, 1987 by Executive Order No. 124-A.
To pursue efficient and effective approaches to promote industry
compliance and encourage pollution reduction thru public pressure the
Industrial Ecowatch is hereby adapted by the DENR as part of the
compliance monitoring system. Ecowatch rates industries not to pollute.
To encourage industry/business sector to engage in environmental
improvement activities and advance self-monitoring and mandatory
compliance with environmental standards, DENR Administrative Order
No. 2003-14 creating the Environmental Partnership Program to
support industry self regulation towards improve environmental
performance was launched in 1993.
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