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MARILAO,
Bulacan—Support is growing for efforts to rehabilitate
one of the world’s most polluted rivers located in this
town.
The
growing clamor to revive the biologically dead river was
clearly manifested Tuesday as part of the Earth Day
celebration held in Prenza Dam in barangay Prenza in
this town, where hundreds of volunteers joined hands in
retrieving tons of garbage impounded at the said dam.
The
river cleanup was initiated by the local government unit
of Marilao, led by Mayor Epifanio Guillermo, with
concerted efforts coming from Caloocan City Vice Mayor
Tito Varela, Gov. Joselito Mendoza, the Catholic Church
under its Commission on Services, nongovernment
organizations and Bulakeño residents, particularly
coming from this town.
Guillermo recalled that the Prenza Dam was once a picnic
destination for vacationers wishing to take a dip in its
pristine, clear water, but lamented that all this is now
just a part of history, with the growing piles of
garbage dumped into the Marilao River leaving it
virtually dead biologically.
Caloocan
City Vice Mayor Tito Valera admitted the garbage being
dumped into the river by residents from barangay Bagong
Silang in Caloocan City has greatly aggravated the
pollution of the river system.
Governor
Mendoza said the garbage problem is already a big
concern, but the biggest problem facing the river is its
high concentration of heavy metals.
The
rehabilitation of the river may take at least 20 years
to happen and needs approximately $30 million, the
governor said.
“I will
immediately order the provincial engineering office to
send a dredger to the Prenza Dam for its
rehabilitation,” Mendoza promised.
Mendoza,
Guillermo and Varela unanimously agreed to fast-track
the rehabilitation of the Marilao River once everybody
joins hands in segregating the waste and desists from
throwing garbage into the river system.
The
Blacksmith Institute, an environment group that monitors
pollution levels in different parts of the globe,
included the Marilao, Meycauayan and Obando Rivers in
the province of Bulacan in its “Dirty Thirty” list of
the World’s Worst Polluted Places for 2007.
The
report, released last September 12, puts Meycauayan and
Marilao in the same league as places like Chernobyl in
Ukraine, as well as Tianying and Lanfin towns in China.
“The
river system is extremely polluted due to waste received
from tanneries, gold and precious-metals refineries, the
largest lead smelter in the Philippines, and numerous
municipal dumpsites,” the report read.
Bulacan
Gov. Joselito “Jon-jon”
Mendoza
earlier told the BusinessMirror the study made by
Blacksmith Institute was made two years ago. “The local
government units are doing programs and we asked for US
aid for the rehabilitation of Meycauayan and Marilao
Rivers, and we are now also doing programs that include
the
Obando River
together with the Save the Ilog Angat River Project of
the provincial government of Bulacan,” Mendoza
explained.
Early
this year, the provincial government of Bulacan and the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
established a Water Quality Management Area (WQMA) in
Marilao.
Ricardo
Medina Jr., Provincial Environment Natural Resources
Office (Penro) head, earlier explained that the concept
of a WQMA is similar to the Laguna Lake Development
Authority and will take charge of th rehabilitation of
the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando (MMO) River System.
Mendoza
said this is the perfect opportunity for public and
private sectors to join hands in an effort to
rehabilitate the Bulacan rivers.
The
creation of the WQMA is based on Republic Act 9275, or
the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, according to the
governor.
The
Environmental Management Bureau and the governor serve
as chairman and cochairman of the WQMA, respectively,
and are assisted by the local chief executives of the
cities of
Caloocan,
Valenzuela, San Jose del Monte, Meycauayan and the towns
of Obando, Marilao and Sta. Maria.
“We
appreciate the unwavering support from the local
government as well as the international community,”
Mendoza
said, and added that a meeting among the concerned
government officials will be held on May 8.
The
group will tackle complicated issues on the
rehabilitation programs for the biologically dead river
system, Mendoza said. |
