SC to convene Manila Bay rehab body

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) is set to convene its committee tasked to monitor the implementation of its 2008 order to rehabilitate Manila Bay, an official said yesterday.

SC spokesman and court administrator Midas Marquez said the move is in line with the planned Manila Bay cleanup of the Duterte administration.

“The SC committee on the Manila Bay cleanup will convene in accordance with an earlier resolution to strengthen the resolve to clean up the bay,” Marquez, vice chairman of the committee, said.

The high court is expected to name a new panel head after its former chairman, Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., retired from the judiciary in August last year.

Velasco penned the SC writ of mandamus issued in 2008, ordering 13 government agencies led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to clean up Manila Bay.

“The government’s rehabilitation plan is good news because it complements the continuing mandamus issued by the SC in 2008. The Manila Bay cleanup should be a concerted effort by all concerned agencies in the three branches of government,” Marquez  said.

President Duterte has approved the seven-year plan of the DENR to rehabilitate Manila Bay.

He warned hotels along Roxas Boulevard that they would be shut down if they are found to be dumping waste in the bay.

The efforts to revive Manila Bay will cost the government around P47 billion, which the administration will reportedly get from road users’ tax upon abolition of the Road Board.

The Manila Bay cleanup will be launched at the Manila Yacht Club on Jan. 27.

Aside from the DENR, other agencies tasked to rehabilitate Manila Bay are the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority; the Departments of Education, Health, Agriculture, Public Works and Highways, and Budget and Management as well as the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police Maritime Group and Department of the Interior and Local Government.