A gargantuan task!

DA-BFAR LAUNCHES MMK

TO CLEAN-UP MANILA BAY

By Manny Piñol

Kawit, Cavite – Senator Cynthia Villar, who heads the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment, led the launching of the Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan (MMK) Program of the Department of Agriculture on Wednesday in Kawit to mark the start of the challenging task of cleaning up Manila Bay.

Villar led government officials of the different agencies, the local cal government of Cavite led by Gov. Boying Remulla, students and fisherfolks in clearing the coastal area of Kawit near the Island Cove Resort of plastics and floating garbage and planted “Bakawan” cuttings in the mangrove area.

In her speech during the program which followed the clean-up, Villar praised the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), a bureau under the DA, for launching MMK in Manila Bay saying that it was a compliance of a Supreme Court Mandamus directing 13 government agencies and over 100 local government units to clean up the Bay, including Laguna Lake and the tributaries.

Manila Bay, more than Boracay, has become a gigantic cesspool as untreated wastewater and garbage from industrial and residential areas have been dumped in the Bay over the years.

Fishpens have also sprouted in areas around the Bay further choking the body of water which used to be a rich fishing ground and famous for its beautiful sunset.

The Supreme Court issued the Mandamus after an Environmental lawyer, Antonio Oposa, Jr., filed a suit against the Philippine Government in 1999 to compel government agencies, including the DA-BFAR, to clean up the Bay.

The environmental group led by Oposa won the suit in 2008 and the High Court issued the clean up order to 13 national government agencies and over 100 local government units.

Aside occassional Clean Ups, however, most of the respondent agencies have failed to comply prompting Villar to call for a series of Senate Investigations.

In my message during the program, I directed BFAR to conduct the Clean Up activity every month covering other coastal communities in the BAY.

BFAR Director Eduardo Gongona was also directed to involve private fishing companies in the Clean Up.

The BFAR was also directed to ask Filipino shipbuilders to design a “Garbage Boat” equipped with garbage collection equipment to clean up the Bay and bring back the fish.

The DA-BFAR will work closely with partner government agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Interior and Local Government, the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard and other organizations to rehabilitate, restore and conserve the Bay following the Supreme Court’s Writ of Continuing Mandamus.

(Photos from BFAR) — with Eduardo Gongona and 4 others.