DENR designated lead agency of Pasig River rehab body

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has designated the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as lead agency of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) to ensure close coordination of measures to rehabilitate Metro Manila’s major waterways.

The change in the composition for the commission is contained in Executive Order 90 signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea by authority of Duterte last Wednesday.

“There is a need for close coordination and oversight of all ongoing efforts of the national government relative to the clean-up and rehabilitation of major waterways in Metro Manila,” the order read.

The order amended EO No. 54 issued in 1999 which created the PRRC, an inter-agency body mandated to ensure that Pasig River is rehabilitated to its historically pristine condition conducive to transport, recreation and tourism.

Under the 1999 order, the chair of the commission was the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) while the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) was the co-chair.

The new EO retained MMDA as co-chair of the commission. The DBM remains as a member along with the public works, tourism, transportation, finance, trade, defense, interior and local government and human settlements departments; the Office of the Executive Secretary and three private sector representatives.