In many countries, riverfront properties are among the most expensive pieces of real estate. In our country, people avoid sites near the Pasig River because of the pollution and stink. For about three decades now, there has been an effort to revive the Pasig River. Fidel Ramos and other members of his generation said that in their youth, they could still swim in the river. During his presidency, his wife Amelita spearheaded a project to revive the Pasig, which cuts through the Malacañang Palace grounds and its security complex. In those days, the stink from the river penetrated even the air-conditioned Palace complex. Corpses as well as aborted fetuses were often found floating in the river. The macabre joke was that the dead people were not murdered but died from the heavy pollution after falling into the Pasig.

The Editorial Board. (2025, February 28). Reviving the Pasig River [Editorial]. The Philippine Star, p. 8.