MANILA – Sen. Cynthia Villar sought an inquiry into the wastewater treatment and sewerage system in Metro Manila.
Sewerage problem is the “main factor” in the degradation of Manila Bay and its coastal area, the chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources said Wednesday.
According to the chief regulator of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), the lack of sewerage facilities in Metro Manila is “10 times worse” than in Boracay.
“We still have a long way to go in reviving Manila Bay back to its pristine condition,” Villar said in filing Senate Resolution 747.
“Sadly, despite our efforts to clean up, water quality in the bay continues to worsen because of poor solid waste management and the lack of facilities for proper wastewater disposal,” she said.
Villar agreed with environmental lawyer and Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient Antonio Oposa, who likened Manila Bay to a “toilet bowl” that never gets flushed.
Moreover, informal settlements, particularly at the Port of Manila, lacked sanitation facilities, she said.
“Despite the mandate given to (MWSS) way back in 1971 and the responsibilities given to its concessionaires more than 20 years ago, Metro Manila is still far from having adequate sewerage facilities, which is an indication that there is a failure of implementation and enforcement of the laws with respect to the provision of adequate sanitation, drainage and sewerage facilities even in Metro Manila; and this amounts to a violation of the ‘right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology’ as the people’s health continues to be in peril,” read part of the Senate resolution.
Manila “has only 14 percent of its required number of sewerage treatment plants, which remove contaminants from the wastewater before it is dumped in rivers and bays,” it further read.
Villar said she wants to know what the MWSS and its concessionaires are doing to speed up the pace of the installation of sewerage treatment plants./PN
