Manila Bay’s new story of hope

The Philippines is gifted with the richest marine waters—the “center of the center of marine biodiversity on Earth.” Manila Bay is right on top of it.

But what did we Filipinos do? With our apathy and abuse for the last 50 years, we turned it into a garbage dump. We also turned it into a toilet bowl—that we do not bother to flush.

Ang ating yamang dagat ay ating binastos, binaboy, nilapastangan, sinalaula, gihugaw-hugawan!

Jan. 27 marked the beginning of a new narrative of how we Filipinos have finally awakened from the addiction of abuse.

Let it be the new and happy story of how we all got together one morning — shoulder-to-shoulder in the spirit of bayanihan — to take this walk for strong, serious and sustained action.

Thank you to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and their Bisayan bossing for their political will, and for getting us all together.

Thank you even more to each and every Filipino who will now take acts of enlightened citizenship to be the change that we want to see.

Without the people’s support, the people in power can do nothing. But when we, the people, get our act together, there is nothing we cannot do.

Yes, “the power of the people is more powerful than the people in power.”

ANTONIO OPOSA JR., lawyer and environmental activist