Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on Friday said one of the most difficult tasks in rehabilitating Manila Bay involved dealing with thousands of informal settlers around the water body. Cimatu, in his speech at the inauguration of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) regional office in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) here, said a big chunk of pollutants comes from household and livestock waste thrown into water tributaries connected to Manila Bay. Most households along estuaries also do not have septic tanks or are not connected to proper sewage systems, he said.

Cinco, M. (2019, January 26). Settlers give way to Manila Bay rehab: 12,000 Cavite families up for relocation as DENR checks pollution from communities, farms. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A8.