DHSUD welcomes First Lady’s support for Pasig River rehab

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has welcomed the backing of First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos in the rehabilitation of the Pasig River.

“With the issuance of Executive Order 35 by the President, and the full-backing of the First Lady, we expect an efficient and speedy rehabilitation of Pasig River,” DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said in a press statement over the weekend.

In her interview with Tatler Asia magazine for its August 2023 issue, Mrs. Marcos cited the Pasig River rehabilitation as among her three priority advocacies, along with education and improved access to quality health care.

Mrs. Marcos said she envisions Pasig River to become a lifestyle and commercial hub, and a major tourist attraction when fully rehabilitated.

“As for the river initiative, she (Mrs. Marcos) hopes that revitalizing the Pasig will make it an attraction in its own right, in the same way, that the Thames or Seine or Bangkok’s Chao Phraya are: arteries of commerce, lifestyle, tourism and culture, drawing visitors from home and overseas,” Tatler Asia wrote.

President Marcos had earlier issued EO 35 which ordered the creation of IAC-PRUD which would carry out the rehabilitation efforts in Pasig River.

Under EO 35, the IAC-PRUD was primarily tasked to “facilitate and ensure the full rehabilitation of the banks along the Pasig River water system and nearby water systems in order to provide alternative transportation, propel economic opportunities, and boost tourism activities.”

The council was directed to formulate a Pasig River Urban Development Plan which shall serve as the blueprint for the full rehabilitation of the river with the end view of “realizing its full potential for mixed-use development, transportation, recreation, tourism and sustainable human settlement, taking into consideration its historic and cultural value.”

The council was also mandated to “study, prepare and implement a comprehensive shelter plan for massive relocation of informal settler families (ISFs) and other unauthorized or unlawful occupants along the Pasig River banks.”

EO 35 states that the council shall identify suitable relocation sites for the ISFs and shall come up with long-term solutions to address ongoing migration into the Pasig River banks.

EO 35 authorizes the IAC-PRUD to “accept grants, contributions, donations, endowments, bequests, or gifts in cash or in kind from local and foreign sources in support of the formulation and implementation of the Pasig River Urban Development Plan, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.”

To monitor the progress of the rehabilitation, EO35 tasked the IAC-PRUD to submit to the Office of the President, through the Office of the Executive Secretary, a quarterly status report.