This Sunday (Jan. 27) the Department of Environment and Natural Resources begins implementing a 10-year plan costing a whopping P42 billion to revive Manila Bay from decades of pollution and urban blight. You will recall that serious efforts were made as far back as the early 90s—during the Ramos administration—to clean up the Pasig River, which empties into Manila Bay. Some headway was made in reviving the heavily polluted body of water, with succeeding administrations trying to sustain the effort, including a costly dredging. To date, though, the water remains murky and foul-smelling.

Hilario, E. M. (2019, January 22). Can the DENR hack it?. Manila Standard, p. A5.