Two decades after the Supreme Court ordered 13 government agencies led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to clean up Manila Bay, its waters remain unfit for human contact, filled with viruses and bacteria coming from the rivers and sewage outlets flowing into it from the cities and towns around, but mostly from the Pasig River. Manila Bay was in the news again this weekend as former Manila Mayor, now Deputy Speaker and Buhay party-list Rep. LIto Atienza called on the government to act on a problem that has long hounded the bay. In 2008, the Supreme Court, acting on a civil action filed by a group of Concerned Residents of Manila Bay, ordered the DENR, the Metro Manila Development Commission, and 11 other agencies to clean up the historic bay. They were given ten years to do it.

A reminder on the problem of pollution in Manila Bay. (2021, February 18). Manila Bulletin, p. 4.