As the Department of Environment and Natural Resources marks the first year of Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program with bragging about lower coliform levels in Manila city bayside, former Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao urged Congress to pass House Bill 257 Declaring Manila Bay as “Reclamation-Free” Zone as a serious measure for genuine rehabilitation. “DENR’s claim is so narrow that it could only cite positive indicators on the bay within the city of Manila when legally it involves a coastline of 190 kilometers and near 200,000 hectares, from Bataan province in the north to Cavite in the South and they did so cited (sic) on their very own Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program,” the former lawmaker said in a press statement.

Casas, W. (2020, January 29). 'Declare Manila Bay reclamation-free zone'. Manila Standard, p. A6