Unseen in a river system that Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu once described as the cleanest he had seen in the country are mangroves dying because they had been submerged in too much fresh water. A mangrove specialist and retired scientist blamed this on a riverside park that was built with pork barrel funds and meant to accentuate the beauty and cleanliness of Iloilo River. The DENR regional office earlier raised concern over the impact of the Esplanade project on mangroves in the Iloilo River, which is actually an estuary where fresh water and seawater mix.

Burgos, N. Jr. (2017, August 15). Iloilo beautification project killing mangroves. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A11.