Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on Wednesday ordered a December deadline for the cleanup of Navotas City’s Bangkulasi River, one of the filthy water bodies that drain into Manila Bay.
“Cleaning up the Bangkulasi River, which is part of the Malabon-Navotas River system, is an essential part of the Manila Bay Rehabilitation program because the river system directly empties into the historic bay,” he said.
He instructed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources team assigned to the river system to “produce drastic improvements by December this year” in order to reduce the fecal coliform levels in Manila Bay by yearend.
Undersecretary for Solid Waste and Local Government Unit Concerns Benny Antiporda said the team would “aim to prevent more wastes from flowing into the river system before cleaning it.”
“We are planning to use some interventions to prevent wastes from coming back to the river,” he said.
He threatened to issue cease-and-desist orders against establishments without proper sewage treatment plants.
But he clarified the crackdown was “not about destroying the economy of Navotas, but about waking them up to say that Navotas is a model city.”