Post by EXO on Apr 16, 2009 18:14:49 GMT 8
10 years, billions for Manila Bay cleanup
By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:20:00 04/16/2009
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—It would take more than 10 years and hundreds of billions of pesos to clean up the world-famous Manila Bay, said Secretary Lito Atienza of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“It will take more than 10 years before we see a clean and clear Manila Bay,” he said after an environment forum here.
Atienza said pollution in Laguna De Bay and Pasig River, which flows out to Manila Bay, also need to be addressed. He said Laguna De Bay needs massive dredging and the fish pens there need to be removed.
The former Manila mayor said the three bodies of water—Laguna De Bay, Pasig River, and Manila Bay are all intertwined.
“The important thing is commitment. All the agencies of the government must be committed in restoring Manila Bay. This move would also entail not only billions but hundreds of billions of pesos,” he said.
Atienza added that another factor that slows down the cleanup of Manila Bay are the pending cases filed by several urban-poor groups assailing government for using the Supreme Court decision ordering the cleanup to illegally evict them from their lands.
Urban-poor communities, in their petition before the high court, said the Manila Bay ruling did not raise, much less include, the issue of their rights before demolition or eviction was carried out.
They also argued that the case did not tackle the manner and the requisites to be followed prior to demolition or eviction.
In their petition, they cited Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 or the so-called Lina law, which states that families who live in the so-called danger zones may be relocated and their homes may be demolished provided that they are given adequate relocation after a process of consultation and dialogue.
"This clarification from the court is urgently needed because the usual practice of MMDA is to demolish dwellings without giving notice and doing away with consultation, and without providing adequate relocation," they said.
Petitioners told the high court that more than 70,000 families will be affected by the Supreme Courtdecision in the cleaning of Manila Bay.
Last December, the high court through Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. said concerned agencies should coordinate for the cleanup, restoration, and preservation of the water quality of the Manila Bay, even as it lamented the lack of concerned of the people and institutions to implement programs intended for its rehabilitation.
The high court recalled that Manila Bay was "a place with a proud historic past, once brimming with marine life and, for so many decades in the in the past, a spot for different contact recreation activities, but now a dirty and slowly dying expanse mainly because of the abject official indifference of people and institutions."
By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:20:00 04/16/2009
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—It would take more than 10 years and hundreds of billions of pesos to clean up the world-famous Manila Bay, said Secretary Lito Atienza of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“It will take more than 10 years before we see a clean and clear Manila Bay,” he said after an environment forum here.
Atienza said pollution in Laguna De Bay and Pasig River, which flows out to Manila Bay, also need to be addressed. He said Laguna De Bay needs massive dredging and the fish pens there need to be removed.
The former Manila mayor said the three bodies of water—Laguna De Bay, Pasig River, and Manila Bay are all intertwined.
“The important thing is commitment. All the agencies of the government must be committed in restoring Manila Bay. This move would also entail not only billions but hundreds of billions of pesos,” he said.
Atienza added that another factor that slows down the cleanup of Manila Bay are the pending cases filed by several urban-poor groups assailing government for using the Supreme Court decision ordering the cleanup to illegally evict them from their lands.
Urban-poor communities, in their petition before the high court, said the Manila Bay ruling did not raise, much less include, the issue of their rights before demolition or eviction was carried out.
They also argued that the case did not tackle the manner and the requisites to be followed prior to demolition or eviction.
In their petition, they cited Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 or the so-called Lina law, which states that families who live in the so-called danger zones may be relocated and their homes may be demolished provided that they are given adequate relocation after a process of consultation and dialogue.
"This clarification from the court is urgently needed because the usual practice of MMDA is to demolish dwellings without giving notice and doing away with consultation, and without providing adequate relocation," they said.
Petitioners told the high court that more than 70,000 families will be affected by the Supreme Courtdecision in the cleaning of Manila Bay.
Last December, the high court through Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. said concerned agencies should coordinate for the cleanup, restoration, and preservation of the water quality of the Manila Bay, even as it lamented the lack of concerned of the people and institutions to implement programs intended for its rehabilitation.
The high court recalled that Manila Bay was "a place with a proud historic past, once brimming with marine life and, for so many decades in the in the past, a spot for different contact recreation activities, but now a dirty and slowly dying expanse mainly because of the abject official indifference of people and institutions."