Half a century ago, people from all walks of life flock to the shore of what was then the Dewey Boulevard (now renamed Roxas Boulevard) to view the spectacular sunset of Manila Bay. It was, at that time, such a magnificent sight that mesmerized and inspires men with creative minds to write verses of poem
s and couples of all ages to feel romantic.Today, the sun still set at Manila Bay, but the scenery at bay is no longer as captivating as before. The great estuary has now been transformed into the largest dumping site of the country. The stinking, eye-soaring garbage and debris floating along the coast simply discourage anyone to spend time sitting on the breakwater pavement to wait for the panorama of the sun descending upon the horizon.
Manila Bay is our national heritage, a silent witness to the millennia of Philippine history and the venue of many sea battles and human conflicts, dating from the era of Spanish galleons to modern, destructive warships, along with other historical events that helped shaped the Filipino culture and values. The Bay, the gateway to the country's capital of Manila, is a vital national asset that provides sources of food, livelihood and recreation to an estimated 92 million Filipinos.
The sustainability of the Bay and its diverse ecosystem is however continually threatened by a combination of land and sea-based human activities, which contribute to the decline in its environmental quality. illegal and destructive fishing, habitat destruction, pollution, siltation and uncontrolled development along the coast all contributed to pressures on the bay.
Despite the creation of several laws (P.D. 984, DAO 35, R.A. 6969, R.A.2003, P.D. 979) to protect and conserve Manila Bay pollution and destruction of marine environment remains unabated.
Two water concessionaires in Metro Manila owe the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) billions of pesos in fines for contributing to the pollution of Manila Bay due to their continued failure
to put up waste water treatment plants. DENR imposed a daily fine of P200,000 on Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. for not complying with provisions in their contracts which require them to put up these facilities. Record showed that both companies have been violating these provisions for the past 12 years. DENR, on the other hand, has its own version of corruption and ineptness. It has consistently tolerated and provided favors to powerful politicians connected with the two concessionaires and allowed violations to persist for such a long time. The present DENR Secretary, Lito Atienza, is spearheading the campaign to penalize the culprits. As his term of office is co-terminus with the president, one would wonder why he waited up to the last moment before taking this kind of action. Whether he is really serious about protecting our marine environment or it is just one of his political gimmickry (He’s running for Mayor of Manila again) remains to be seen. Meantime, since the abuse of Manila Bay went on for more than a decade, the past DENR secretaries should not be allowed to go Scot-free and also be held accountable.
Adding to the pressures and speeding up the process of deterioration of Manila Bay is the failure of our two government agencies to enforce maritime pollution regulations.
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), the lead agency on maritime safety and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), their enforcement arm on maritime pollution, can make all the alibis they want to dispute the allegation of their ineptness and inability to prevent pollution of Manila Bay. But the floating plastics, garbage and thick oil slicks from commercial ships transiting the bay and those docked at our harbors and piers do not lie.
PCG continue to inspect ships (both foreign and coast-wise trade) to ensure compliance with MARPOL regulations. Yet, dilapidated inter-island tankers, with leaking hull, deficient instrument. Inadequate loading, discharging and tank cleaning equipment continue to ply their trade. Some do not even carry an “Oily water separator”, a mandatory equipment for tankers to separate water from oily waste.
Asked how they could get away with defective equipment and lack of tank cleaning machines and where they dump their oil sludge, the captain of a small tanker plying the Bataan- Sta. Ana oil depot route, owned and operated by one of the giant oil players, confidently replied: “we pay grease money to MARINA and Coastguard boarding party every voyage and without their knowledge we discharge our oily residues in Manila Bay, at night time, where no one can see”.
The oil terminals in Bataan and Subic bay requires cargo tanks of all tankers to be fully washed and cleaned prior to loading operations. Yet, none of these terminals, not even PCG, ask how the tanks are wash and where the oil effluents were discharge. When confronted with this issue, the Coastguard commandant bragged that their men are always vigilant in guarding our oceans. Adding that they make it a point to inspect “cargo record book” (record of loading, discharging and tank washing operations) when boarding vessels. Surprisingly, they never suspect that the entries to book can always be falsified.
Some world-wide trading vessels also use our territorial waters as their dumping ground. They navigate closer to our coast, pumped out their oily bilge water and indiscriminately throw their garbage and other toxic wastes overboard. Unless caught red-handed by our coastguard cutters, which is very unlikely because they seldom venture away from the coast, they cannot be apprehended elsewhere because the Philippines is NOT a party to the MARPOL convention of 1973/78.
Any nation who is a non-party to the MARPOL convention can expect to be the dumping site of the world. If readers can recall, about a year ago, a shipper from Japan exported to us several containers of stinking garbage and waste materials. Freights were pre-paid but the consignee was fictitious. The intention is to land these containers in Manila and leave it rotting at the custom’s warehouse until somebody finds out that there is no claimant (perhaps in about a year time). The containers would then be opened and its foul-smelling content transported to the nearby dumpsite. All the government did at that time was to file a diplomatic protest. But the guilty party got away without even a slap on the wrist. Had we sign for ratification the MARPOL convention, there would have been an outcry from the member nations and the owner of the Japanese vessel would have been sanction and severely fine by the Organization (IMO). It would be an interesting question for our lawmakers why we failed to ratify this international MARPOL convention.
A group of environmental activists has bemoaned the degeneration of Manila Bay into "floating landfills," due to unabated discard of non-biodegradable trash by residents. They said this water body is rapidly turning into pollution hotspots where huge amounts of non-biodegradable trash, particularly plastics, are dumped daily. Aside from trash, other major hazards to the environment are fertilizer and pesticide run-
offs from farms, and untreated effluents from residential, commercial and industrial establishments which are also damaging and killing the marine ecosystems.
A survey conducted in 2006 by the EcoWaste Coalition and Greenpeace Southeast Asia revealed that synthetic plastic materials account for 76 per cent of the floating trash items in Manila Bay, out of which 51 per cent are plastic bags.
The group is urging
Filipinos to cut down on the use of plastic bags, reject all forms of littering and dumping, reduce trash and make it a habit to separate discards at source for reusing, recycling and composting. But unless the government regulates or enact laws against productions and uses of plastic materials (under MARPOL regulations throwing of plastics is prohibited in any seas, oceans or bodies of water in the world. U.S. also prohibits the use plastic bags in their malls and supermarkets) and forcibly remove the shanties illegally built by informal settlers (squatters) along the coast of Manila Bay and river banks, all efforts to conserve Manila Bay would remain futile.
We Filipinos should be educated on how to protect our marine environment. The government should embark on a massive information campaign to make people aware of the fatal effect to our lives if we fail to avert the destruction of marine and environmental resources of Manila Bay and other water bodies of the country. Manila Bay, in particular, should be given time to regenerate by itself. Whether we believe it or not, we all co-exist with this Bay. Once this great estuary and all the living things under it are destroyed, we too will be obliterated.
++ END ++
Despite the creation of several laws (P.D. 984, DAO 35, R.A. 6969, R.A.2003, P.D. 979) to protect and conserve Manila Bay pollution and destruction of marine environment remains unabated.
Two water concessionaires in Metro Manila owe the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) billions of pesos in fines for contributing to the pollution of Manila Bay due to their continued failure
to put up waste water treatment plants. DENR imposed a daily fine of P200,000 on Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. for not complying with provisions in their contracts which require them to put up these facilities. Record showed that both companies have been violating these provisions for the past 12 years. DENR, on the other hand, has its own version of corruption and ineptness. It has consistently tolerated and provided favors to powerful politicians connected with the two concessionaires and allowed violations to persist for such a long time. The present DENR Secretary, Lito Atienza, is spearheading the campaign to penalize the culprits. As his term of office is co-terminus with the president, one would wonder why he waited up to the last moment before taking this kind of action. Whether he is really serious about protecting our marine environment or it is just one of his political gimmickry (He’s running for Mayor of Manila again) remains to be seen. Meantime, since the abuse of Manila Bay went on for more than a decade, the past DENR secretaries should not be allowed to go Scot-free and also be held accountable.Adding to the pressures and speeding up the process of deterioration of Manila Bay is the failure of our two government agencies to enforce maritime pollution regulations.
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), the lead agency on maritime safety and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), their enforcement arm on maritime pollution, can make all the alibis they want to dispute the allegation of their ineptness and inability to prevent pollution of Manila Bay. But the floating plastics, garbage and thick oil slicks from commercial ships transiting the bay and those docked at our harbors and piers do not lie.
PCG continue to inspect ships (both foreign and coast-wise trade) to ensure compliance with MARPOL regulations. Yet, dilapidated inter-island tankers, with leaking hull, deficient instrument. Inadequate loading, discharging and tank cleaning equipment continue to ply their trade. Some do not even carry an “Oily water separator”, a mandatory equipment for tankers to separate water from oily waste.
Asked how they could get away with defective equipment and lack of tank cleaning machines and where they dump their oil sludge, the captain of a small tanker plying the Bataan- Sta. Ana oil depot route, owned and operated by one of the giant oil players, confidently replied: “we pay grease money to MARINA and Coastguard boarding party every voyage and without their knowledge we discharge our oily residues in Manila Bay, at night time, where no one can see”.
The oil terminals in Bataan and Subic bay requires cargo tanks of all tankers to be fully washed and cleaned prior to loading operations. Yet, none of these terminals, not even PCG, ask how the tanks are wash and where the oil effluents were discharge. When confronted with this issue, the Coastguard commandant bragged that their men are always vigilant in guarding our oceans. Adding that they make it a point to inspect “cargo record book” (record of loading, discharging and tank washing operations) when boarding vessels. Surprisingly, they never suspect that the entries to book can always be falsified.
Some world-wide trading vessels also use our territorial waters as their dumping ground. They navigate closer to our coast, pumped out their oily bilge water and indiscriminately throw their garbage and other toxic wastes overboard. Unless caught red-handed by our coastguard cutters, which is very unlikely because they seldom venture away from the coast, they cannot be apprehended elsewhere because the Philippines is NOT a party to the MARPOL convention of 1973/78.
Any nation who is a non-party to the MARPOL convention can expect to be the dumping site of the world. If readers can recall, about a year ago, a shipper from Japan exported to us several containers of stinking garbage and waste materials. Freights were pre-paid but the consignee was fictitious. The intention is to land these containers in Manila and leave it rotting at the custom’s warehouse until somebody finds out that there is no claimant (perhaps in about a year time). The containers would then be opened and its foul-smelling content transported to the nearby dumpsite. All the government did at that time was to file a diplomatic protest. But the guilty party got away without even a slap on the wrist. Had we sign for ratification the MARPOL convention, there would have been an outcry from the member nations and the owner of the Japanese vessel would have been sanction and severely fine by the Organization (IMO). It would be an interesting question for our lawmakers why we failed to ratify this international MARPOL convention.
A group of environmental activists has bemoaned the degeneration of Manila Bay into "floating landfills," due to unabated discard of non-biodegradable trash by residents. They said this water body is rapidly turning into pollution hotspots where huge amounts of non-biodegradable trash, particularly plastics, are dumped daily. Aside from trash, other major hazards to the environment are fertilizer and pesticide run-
offs from farms, and untreated effluents from residential, commercial and industrial establishments which are also damaging and killing the marine ecosystems.
A survey conducted in 2006 by the EcoWaste Coalition and Greenpeace Southeast Asia revealed that synthetic plastic materials account for 76 per cent of the floating trash items in Manila Bay, out of which 51 per cent are plastic bags.
The group is urging
Filipinos to cut down on the use of plastic bags, reject all forms of littering and dumping, reduce trash and make it a habit to separate discards at source for reusing, recycling and composting. But unless the government regulates or enact laws against productions and uses of plastic materials (under MARPOL regulations throwing of plastics is prohibited in any seas, oceans or bodies of water in the world. U.S. also prohibits the use plastic bags in their malls and supermarkets) and forcibly remove the shanties illegally built by informal settlers (squatters) along the coast of Manila Bay and river banks, all efforts to conserve Manila Bay would remain futile.We Filipinos should be educated on how to protect our marine environment. The government should embark on a massive information campaign to make people aware of the fatal effect to our lives if we fail to avert the destruction of marine and environmental resources of Manila Bay and other water bodies of the country. Manila Bay, in particular, should be given time to regenerate by itself. Whether we believe it or not, we all co-exist with this Bay. Once this great estuary and all the living things under it are destroyed, we too will be obliterated.
++ END ++
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2 comments:
It is sad I'm hearing news that FILIPINO Chief Engineers of other foreign vessels gives order to pump out engine bilges without passing through oily water separator system on Philippine Waters.
"Oiler, pump out mo yung bilge nasa pilipinas na tayo!"
:( Anu pa kung Ilog Pasig pa.
Is this Capt. alvils? or Capt.Alviola?
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