The new battle for Manila Bay

I was in Manila last Sunday because Commodore Robert “Joseph” whom I exhorted to make his being commodore of the Manila Yacht Club (MYC) more meaningful and with a lasting advocacy insisted that I join him. Finally, it seems that the 13 government agencies to whom the Supreme Court (SC) issued a mandamus order to clean up Manila Bay last Dec. 2009 has reawakened by the challenge that Commodore Bobby Joseph accepted… not to clean up the Manila Bay, but rather spearhead the efforts to rally every one to support this very noble cause that seems to have  grown viral in Metro Manila.

We woke up very early morning and proceeded to the Manila Hotel and had a short breakfast with the Rotary Club of Manila. Then we all walked to the Quirino Grandstand. I have not been in this grandstand for ages and it seems that there is no upkeep… the smell of human or dog excrement was very foul and I’m sure that it competes with the smell of Manila Bay. It was indeed a historic moment for it was truly the first time that volunteers came in droves for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay.

The top officials of the Duterte Administration were all there starting with Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu who led the program. He was joined by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, Acting Information and Communications Technology Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Danilo Lim. Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde. The heads of the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard and more. Emcee Usec Sherwin Rigor of the DILG literally mentioned all the groups and individuals present in the start of the Unity Walk… which began at the Quirino Grandstand to a makeshift grandstand beside Roxas Blvd near MYC.

In fairness to the top ranking officials in the Cabinet they all made very short speeches… except for DENR’s Roy Cimatu who mentioned the historical Battle of Manila Bay between the Spaniards headed by Admiral Patricio Montojo and American admiral George Dewey in May 1,1899. He emphasized that this was not a battle with ships against ships…or against foreign invaders, rather it was a battle for ourselves to clean up Manila Bay for the next generation and generations to come. Earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the Manila Bay rehabilitation plan proposed by the DENR. He allocated P42.95 billion for the implementation of the project within three years to seven years.

Thus the Unity Walk for the Rehabilitation of Manila Bay began at the Quirino Grandstand with more than 6,000 volunteers marching the streets of Roxas Blvd. I also made my personal history walking from the Manila Hotel to the MVC, a 3.7 kilometer walk. Thank goodness that Sunday morning air was cool and it was cloudy. Then we learned that three commercial establishments were slapped with cease and desist orders by the government for “generating and discharging pollutive wastewater” as the rehabilitation of the Manila Bay kicks off. They were the famous Aristocrat Restaurant, the Gloria Maris Shark’s Fin Restaurant and the Esplanade San Miguel by the Bay. This is how serious the DENR is to clean up the Manila Bay.

According to the DENR, they immediately cut off the water sources of the three establishments to prevent them from discharging wastewater, although they can still operate their businesses. There’s a possibility that the establishments will be permanently closed in the next few days,

I was able to interview Atty. Antonio Oposa aside from Commodore Bobby Joseph for my Talkshow in Cebu. Atty. Oposa said that he sent me an email

“On behalf of the concerned residents of Manila Bay, thank you to the Secretaries of the DENR, DILG, DOT, and to all of you here present today … for waking up early on a Sunday morning. From our inmost hearts, daghang salamat for taking on the challenge to restore the beauty and bounty of the Manila Bay. The Philippines is gifted with the richest marine waters the “center of the center of marine biodiversity on Earth.”

The Manila Bay is right on top of it. But what did we Filipinos do? With our apathy and abuse for the last 50 years, we turned it into a garbage dump. We also turned it into a toilet bowl … that we do not bother to flush. Today marks the beginning of a new narrative of how we Filipinos have finally awakened from the addiction of abuse. Let it be the new and happy story of how we all got together one morning – shoulder-to-shoulder in the spirit of Bayanihan – to take this walk for a strong, serious  and sustained action. This is the new story of hope. This story is not about the DENR, nor about the people in power today. Nor is it about you, or them, or me. We are all only passing through. Indeed, Atty. Oposa, a Cebuano, not a Tagalog is on top of this!

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