DENR, Rotary Club Manila boost Pasig River rehab

The government found the right partner in the Rotary Club of Manila in sustaining the rehabilitation of the Pasig River.

True to its commitment to support environmental protection initiatives as one of its areas of focus, the Rotary Club of Manila, Asia's first Rotary Club, donated 395 floating trash traps to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Pasig River Coordinating and Management Office on 8 November 2022.

RCM president Herminio S. Esguerra said the floating trash barriers will be positioned at the opening of 18 esteros within the 420-meter stretch of the Pasig River.

"These trash barriers will prevent garbage from floating down into the Pasig River, thus helping bring back the Pasig River to its pristine condition," he said.

A flagship project of the Rotary Club of Manila, the trash traps, according to Esguerra, are the first of their kind to ever be installed in any of the Philippines' waterways.

Esguerra, a long-time environmental advocate, said his involvement traces back to 1995 when he was a donor of the "Piso para sa Pasig" project under the Clean and Green program of then First Lady Amelita Ramos.

The Pasig River rehabilitation, he said, should be a multisectoral partnership of the media, local government units, the church, and the Department of Education.

"It should be included in the school curriculum. The LGUs must impose a strict penalty on polluters while the Church can help by including it in their homilies. The media, of course, plays a very important role in information dissemination," he said.

He added that no matter how the government works to clean Pasig River, it wouldn't be sustainable without the cooperation of the public.

Esguerra said he looks forward to the time when each one takes the responsibility of caring for the river just like how they do in other countries.

"A healthy river leads to economic and tourism development," he added.

DENR Assistant Secretary Joan A. Lagunda, Executive Director of the Pasig River Coordinating and Management Office, said the donated trash traps are a great help to river warriors who have to endure the difficult job of clearing the river of trash every day.

Citing a television documentary that showed the extent of the problem in waste management and rehabilitation of Pasig River, Lagunda lamented that the problem is not simply garbage disposal.

"The problem is not just cleaning the river, not just the amount of pollution and waste. Our problem is behavior, which cleaning alone cannot solve. Our enemy is human behavior, and the solution is knowledge, change, and action," she said in Filipino.

Lagunda cannot thank the RCM enough and the whole Rotarian community for their concern for the river warriors and Pasig River.

"I know that the Rotarian community is capable, not just because it has vast resources, but because it is made up of people who share a passion for and commitment to enhancing communities and improving lives through its seven areas of focus," she added.

Lagunda, along with RCM Community Service Director Hans Palacios and Save Manila Bay/Pasig River Committee chairperson Junjie Vasquez, received the donated trash traps from Esguerra. She also led the blessing of the PRCMO's new trash boat at the Lawton Ferry Station.

"We can see that the Pasig River is no longer dirty and pungent. The Pasig River of today is gradually evolving into the new Pasig River — the Pasig River of tomorrow," she said.