More esteros to be rehabilitated this year

MANILA, Philippines - Continuing the “one estero at a time” approach in rehabilitating the waterways of Metro Manila, ABS-CBN Foundation’s Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP) and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) are taking on the esteros behind the Malacañang Palace this year.

“We want to clean the esteros behind Malacañang. It’s the seat of power. And it’s really bad feng shui to have everything dirty and crime-ridden behind the seat of power,” said Gina Lopez, ABS-CBN Foundation managing director and concurrent PRRC chairperson. “And then we want to extend from Paco to the esteros near it. If we clean that whole area and then make it really good, it’s going to be good for the country.”

The KBPIP and PRRC are cleaning up Estero de San Miguel, Uli-Uli, Aviles, San Sebastian, and Quiapo as well as the canals connected to the Estero de Paco – Estero de Balete, Concordia, Pandacan, Provisor, Sampaloc, Santibañez, Tanque and Valencia.

Ongoing work in the esteros behind Malacañang include the dredging of waste and silt in the riverbed; relocation of informal settlers from the danger zones by the estero to a site in Gaya-Gaya, Bulacan; construction of three-meter easements along the estero; installation of coco fibers and planting of vetiver grass to protect the slopes; clean-up operations; solid waste management barangay orientations; and River Warriors training of community volunteers.

“I would say we are around 35 percent finished with Estero de San Miguel,” reported engineer Reach Peñaflor, PRRC deputy executive director for operations.

Regine Garrate, a recently trained River Warrior from Barangay 641 near Estero de San Miguel, believes there is hope for the estero and the residents living beside it. “Maybe now the people will realize that the trash that we carelessly throw around just comes back to us. So maybe that’s why they will already learn. As far as I can see from the River Warriors, we already learned how to clean and segregate our waste,” she said.

She added that “cleaning feels good and difficult at the same time. Of course, there’s no work that’s not difficult. But it feels good when we see something dirty turning into something really clean. We can see the fruits of our labor.”

Barangay 641 chairman Edmund Dumogda said Estero de Paco “is very beautiful now. And I know that Estero de San Miguel will also be as beautiful. We’ll continue on with our efforts and as long as I’m the barangay chairman, we will support the projects for the improvement of our barangay’s surroundings.”

Perfect partnership

Lopez said the success of their pilot site, Estero de Paco, is a perfect example of a public-private partnership. She cited different local agencies that are helping PRRC and KBPIP in the estero rehabilitation.

“We have the National Housing Authority, which is going to do the relocation—and we’re looking at MRBs, medium rise buildings. And then the Department of Public Works and Highways is going to stabilize the slopes. Metro Manila Development Authority is going to do the dredging. Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and the two water companies, Maynilad and Manila Water, are going to take care of the sewage. Then we have the Department of Interior and Local Government, which will take care of the local governments. And then the private sector and the Department of Social Welfare and Development are going to work really hard to eradicate poverty along the esteros,” she said.

Lopez also cited the participants in the ABS-CBN Foundation-organized “Run for the Pasig River” as contributors to the success of the river rehabilitation project. She said they found out in a focus group discussion that those who participated in the run did so “because the Pasig River is a really good cause to support.”

She also said she is confident “that many people will also be joining this year’s run since every year we show results of what we’ve done in the esteros we are working on.”

Lopez said she feels “that if we are all united and we live life well and we’re doing a good cause and we work together, that river’s going to get cleaned.”