If the world-famous resort island of Boracay is a "cesspool," Manila Bay, with its world-renowned sunset, is a "toilet bowl" that's used every day but never flushed, according to an environmental lawyer and Ramon Magsaysay laureate Antonio Oposa. Speaking at a Senate inquiry into the rehabilitation of Manila Bay on Monday, Oposa, one of the Philippines' leading environmental activists, said bacterial levels in the bay had quintupled from 1 million MPN/100 ml (most probable number per 100 millilites) of fecal coliform to 5 million MPN/100 ml since 1999. Fecal coliform refers to several types of bacteria found in human and animal waste.

Yap, D. (2108, May 22). Ramon Magsaysay laureate says Manila Bay is a toilet bowl that never gets flushed. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A6.