Cruising Pasig River
Pasig River still smiles for us
Pasig River (Ilog Pasig in Tagalog) is a 25 kilometer river that is covered almost entirely by Manila, Philippines. It connects Laguna de Bay into Manila Bay. Fifty years ago, Pasig River flourished with life.
It was a gift to everyone who inhabited that place. It was a source for food and freshwater; a place for relaxation. At that time, looking at the waters was like viewing what life there was in its depths, the water was crystal clear.
And even up to now, Pasig River remains a spring of inspiration for some.
Through the years of being an asset to many people, it was never taken care of and was in fact, abused and desecrated by polluting it. It had to be extremely polluted before somebody tries to save it. And now, all the efforts to revive the life Pasig River once had, seems to be ineffective and hopeless...
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Doing a thing or two makes a difference
We can't just hide in the corner and cry for the murky waters of thousands of rivers because that's not going to do anything. Here are organizations and projects that actually turned their heads and paid attention for the dying river. These are the kind of organizations that we must support because amidst the hopelessness for reviving Pasig River, they chose to lead the people for the river's improvement.
The Leaders
1. Sagip Pasig Movement (Saving Pasig Movement) since 1998
SPM is an organization that has contributed a lot for the rehabilitation of Pasig River. The organization holds a mock award given every World Earth day wherein Top Ten Industries who have been detected polluting the river are given awards that intentionally puts them to shame and pressures them to install wastewater treatment in their facilities.
2. Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) is a support that the government formalized for Pasig river that aims to make the river revitalized that it could support aquatic life by the year 2015. It divided the river into four general parts (The Heritage Zone, the Transition Zone, the Central Business District Zone and the Agro-Tourism Zone) and planned for the improvement of the area around the river and the river itself such as parks around the area and a 10-meter easement to make way for the possibilities of its projects. One of its plans, the Ferry Boat system, a new transportation means that is being introduced to the public became a success.
The Leaders II
3. “Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig”
a movement that is being lead by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.(AFI), and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC). It aims to cleanse and restore the river, not just by providing the financial support but also by influencing the mob to look at the river in a different way. To teach people how important the river is to Philippine’s history and to the lives of many Filipinos is one of its goals. The project will use the media to spread out the knowledge of the importance and advantage of a clean river. The project leader believes that if the restoration of the waters of Pasig River becomes successful, the lives of poor residents around the area of Pasig River will be better. “Piso para sa Pasig” (A peso for Pasig) is one of its active strategies in saving the river. This persuades the public to donate one peso to express their care and concern for it. The project had a good feedback; many responded to the movement and now, the money is being used to clean the river by removing the garbage in it.