Corals are still thriving in a few areas of Manila Bay – in Maragondon and Ternate, Cavite, and in Corregidor and Carballo islands at the mouth of the bay, the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said last week. It had conducted the study to help the DENR in its gargantuan task of cleaning up Manila Bay. The discovery of the thriving coral systems has buoyed hopes that the bay can still be restored to its pristine condition, said DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu who had been handed the enormous problem after the DENR succeeded in cleaning up Boracay in six months in 2018. The Manila Bay problem, however, is a hundred times bigger than Boracay and it may take more than the seven years initially estimated to clean it up.

Thriving corals boost hope for Manila Bay. (2019, June 30). Manila Bulletin, p. 8.