Manila Bay trash dumping probed

Acting Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Jeomari Gerochi yesterday directed the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) to look into allegations that truckloads of garbage have been dumped into Manila Bay.

Gerochi also ordered EMB Director Peter Anthony Abaya to undertake an aerial inspection of Manila Bay to determine and pinpoint the alleged dumping sites.

Abaya was also tasked by Gerochi to investigate the former transfer station at Pier 18 in the North Harbor which was the aborted loading site of Metro Manila’s garbage for shipment to Semirara Island in Antique last December.

Gerochi’s orders came after protests of various environmental and fisheries groups led by the Kalipunan ng Maliliit na Mangingisda sa Manila Bay (KALMADA) against the dumping of garbage into the bay.

In a statement, Gerochi, also urged the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to look into KALMADA’s complaints, stressing its lead role in addressing marine pollution.

Gerochi said that under Presidential Decree No. 979 or the Marine Pollution Decree of 1976, the PCG "has the primary responsibility of enforcing the laws, rules and regulations governing marine pollution."

According to the DENR, PD 979 "prohibits the disposal, discharge of oil, noxious, gaseous, and liquid substances and other harmful substances and any refuse materials of any kind by any method, means, or manner into or upon the territorial and inland navigable waters of the Philippines."

Manila Bay fisherfolk fear that the garbage could be part of the load originally bound for Semirara Island in Antique. Some 300,000 people depend on the bay for livelihood and sustenance.

Fishermen claimed they have lost fishing nets after getting them entangled in garbage in the bay. Others have reportedly seen a barge and a ship in the area, three to five times a day between 8-11 a.m., dumping waste into the water.

KALMADA and other protesting groups staged a rally in front of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) the other day, which they accused of dumping the metropolis’ garbage into the bay, endangering marine life and exposing fishermen and their families to health hazards.

The DENR earlier issued an advisory on the health hazards of swimming in Manila Bay because its shoreline waters are unsafe for primary contact recreation.