The “Battle for Manila Bay,” the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ call to all sectors for pro-active initiatives to clean-up Manila Bay and all water tributaries, recently marked its first year at the Baseco Beach, a 500-meter shoreline which for decades was a heaping monstrosity of trash dumped and washed ashore. This is a result of irresponsible garbage disposal from the inhabitants of cities and municipalities connected to the bay by esteros and rivers. The Baseco Beach became the symbolic ground zero of what many thought was an impossible mission that many administrations failed or never dared confront. I saw how it was during my young volunteer years for some community anti-poverty programs. I saw the pollution, the filth and extremely unsanitary conditions that the residents of the Baseco compound had to live with.

Oxales, O. (2020, February 24). Eco-waste management convergence strategy. Manila Standard, p. A5.