Saving vital waterways

Why not do a “Boracay” on Laguna Lake and Manila Bay, both of which are heavily polluted?

That’s the proposal of a party-list lawmaker in reaction to the rise in the prices of fish, particularly galunggong, or round scad, in wet markets in Metro Manila.

The price of galunggong has surged to as high as P180 per kilo in the city. To stabilize the price of the widely consumed fish variety, the Department of Agriculture has already issued an administrative order permitting the importation of 17 million kilos of galunggong for direct sale to wet markets.

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza believes that fish prices have gone up in Metro Manila partly due to the rapid degradation of our municipal waters. “Even subsistence fisherfolk can no longer catch enough fish to feed their families,” he pointed out. “Actually, it is not just the price of galunggong that has gone up. We had the wet markets surveyed and the prices of practically all fish varieties have gone up by at least P20 per kilo compared to a week ago,” he added.

President Duterte ordered the six-month closure of Boracay in April to pave the way for the rehabilitation of the island known all over the world for its white sand beaches.

If the Chief Executive can exercise this power, can he also do the same to Laguna Lake and Manila Bay?

It’s an interesting proposal as these two vital waterways have become cesspools for various reasons.

In the case of Laguna Lake the water quality has been severely degraded because of the presence of illegal fish cages. In his first State of the Nation Address in July 2016, the President himself expressed dismay over the deterioration of Laguna Lake which used to supply one-third of Metro Manila’s fish consumption.

At present, the entire lake has been occupied by powerful fishpen operators, including high civilian and military officials. The government should now consider giving small fisherfolk the means to exercise rights over the resources of the lake.

Manila Bay is also heavily polluted because of industrial waste and untreated sewage from esteros or creeks that have been taken over by informal settlers who dump excrement and non-biodegradable trash into the water on a daily basis.

If Boracay comes out of its six-month hiatus with pristine waters, then we’ll know if its example can be replicated in Laguna Lake and Manila Bay as well, as long as there’s the requisite political will.

Is the government on the right track in relying in part on official development assistance (ODA) to fund various infrastructure projects under its Build, Build, Build program?

In the case of ODA from Japan, I think the government is doing the right thing in accepting concessional loans from our close neighbor in the north to finance the rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 and other vital infrastructure projects.

News reports indicate that the National Economic and Development Authority recently approved the use of ODA worth ¥38.1 billion (roughly P22 billion) for the much-needed refurbishment of the rapid transport system that runs along the length of EDSA.

Recent discussions between the Department of Transportation and the Japan International Cooperation Agency resulted in projections of a timetable of 43 months for the rehabilitation of MRT-3. The simultaneous rehabilitation and maintenance works to restore MRT-3 to its original design and capacity would take 31 months, with the remaining 12 months allotted for monitoring defect liability.

The project would cover the trains, power supply system, overhead catenary system, radio system, CCTV system, PABX public address system, signaling system, rail tracks, road rail vehicles, depot equipment, elevators and escalators and other station building equipment.

The MRT-3 Rehabilitation Project was among the big-ticket projects discussed by high-level Philippine and Japanese officials during the fifth meeting of the Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation in Tokyo last June.

During the meeting, Japanese officials also committed ¥4.37 billion for the second phase of the New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environmental Protection Project.

As of June, the terms offered by the Japanese government for both projects were for a repayment period of 28 years after a grace period of 12 years with interest only of 0.1 percent per annum. These are concessional terms that should benefit us in the long run.

Aside from these projects, at least four others projects have been identified for possible funding by the Japanese government. These are the Philippine National Railways (PNR) North 2 Project which would run from Malolos in Bulacan to Clark in Pampanga; PNR South Commuter Line from Tutuban in Manila to Calamba in Laguna; the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project which seeks to mitigate flooding in Metro Manila and the Road Network Development Project in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

We must thank the Japanese government for its full support for our economic development programs. We need them to accelerate our development efforts, especially since their concessional loans afford us longer repayment terms at lower interest than those offered by other developed countries.