Paco waterway streetlights inaugurated

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and ABS-CBN Foundation managing director Gina Lopez led the inauguration of the newly installed streetlights lining the Estero de Paco, a 2.9-kilometer tributary of the Pasig River, last night.

The streetlights were installed at an easement between the Pedro Gil and Quirino bridges. Officials said residents were scared to walk along the banks of the waterway at night since it was reputed to be a crime and accident-prone area.

The city government plans to set up more streetlights in other parts of Estero de Paco.

Lopez personally requested the lights from Lim as part of the continuous effort to make Estero de Paco a tourist attraction and a model for river rehabilitation.

“It’s symbolic. Lights are always symbolic,” said Lopez. “It’s the advent of a transition from one phase to another –from something so bad, moving on to endless possibilities. It’s the promise of a brighter future.”

ABS-CBN Foundation’s Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig in partnership with the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, the city government, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Department of Public Works and Highways, Manila Water, Maynilad and other government and private partners began rehabilitating Estero de Paco in 2009.