Manila Bay is not dead. But whether it is barely living or has a healthy ecosystem is another matter. And whether it thrives or dies is up to government. Since 2000, per the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), there have been 12 oil spills in Manila Bay, which also serves as a port. Together with the discharges from industries and cargo ships that dock at the port, DENR said these oil spills have increased the presence of oil and grease in the water. DENR’s fisheries bureau has found traces of metals including copper, cadmium, and zinc coming from the bay’s seabed—and because they have reduced the oxygen in the water, they have made the bay inhabitable for marine life. Fishermen have been told not to fish there because Manila Bay is supposedly dead.

Manila Bay's fight for life. (2023, February 5). Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A5.