Duterte calls on Congress to abolish Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday called on Congress to abolish the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, saying it no longer has a function to perform.

"If Congress is listening, abolish it. There is nothing to clean in the Pasig River," the president said during the oath-taking of new appointees in Malacañang.

The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission is an inter-agency body mandated to ensure that the water body is rehabilitated to its historically pristine condition to make it conducive to transport, recreation and tourism.

It was created in 1999 through Executive Order No. 54 and not through Congress.

READ: Duterte fires Pasig river rehab head

Last month, Duterte dismissed Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission Executive Director Jose Antonio Goitia due to alleged corruption.

He later on declared that Pasig River would no longer be restored to its pristine state because of the establishment of new factories and the booming population.

"You can't clean Pasig because we do not have zoning. People go to Pasig even during the time of (national hero Jose) Rizal and the Spaniards," the president said in a speech delivered last September 18.

"Over the years, factories sprung up...how you can you clean that? So I will dissolve this commission, place it under (Environment secretary) General (Roy) Cimatu, in the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources)," he added. 

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