Restoring Pasig River the right way

Without a doubt, the “showcase area” of the Pasig River that President Marcos inaugurated on Wednesday evokes the tantalizing possibility that Filipinos of this generation would finally see the historic river restored to its former glory.“

A slice of revived Pasig River” was how this paper had captioned the main photo on the front page of Thursday’s issue, which showed a portion of the riverbank festooned with lights, a fountain, and tables and chairs surrounding a public park—no doubt set up for the presidential event—with the river’s waters dark but amazingly trash-free.

According to reports, the showcase area of the P18-billion three-year project to revive the Pasig consists of 500 meters located behind the Manila Central Post Office that was recently struck by fire.

Called “Pasig Bigyan Buhay Muli” or PBBM, after the President’s initials, the program was an offshoot of Mr. Marcos’ Executive Order No. 35 issued last year, which created the Inter-Agency Council for the Pasig River Urban Development. The council is tasked to “facilitate the rehabilitation of the Pasig River to its historically pristine condition conducive to transport, recreation, and tourism.”

Chairing the council is Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar, with the National Housing Authority tapped as secretariat, and a dozen other government agencies as members.

Prominent landmark

The EO describes the river as holding “immense historical and cultural significance, as a vital waterway that facilitates trade, transportation, and communication, and serves as a prominent landmark and tourist attraction …” That the Pasig’s rehabilitation program is moving fast indicates how political will, judiciously harnessed, can move mountains, or a river in this case.

“We already have plans, and will soon present it to the Office of the President and before the council for approval,” Acuzar said in a report in August last year.

But exactly what those plans are have yet to be released by the council. It would help firm up support for the project if the blueprint for the river’s rehabilitation were made transparent to the public, as this would ensure that it stays faithful to the vision outlined by the President in his EO.

Doing so would also settle some troubling issues about the project that surfaced in the previous administration. For instance, will the Marcos administration still push through with the original plan to build an elevated expressway running above the entire length of the Pasig River?

Massive expressway

On Sept. 21, 2021, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) announced that the Duterte administration had approved the Pasig River Expressway (Parex) project, which it described as a “19.37-km, six-lane elevated road, that will run along the banks of the Pasig River—from Radial Road 10 in the City of Manila to C-6 road.”

Inquirer columnist Joel Ruiz Butuyan, writing about how the Parex will “entomb the Pasig River in cement,” said the elevated expressway is a “disaster for traffic, to the environment, and to our cultural heritage.” As Butuyan correctly pointed out, Iloilo City has already shown the way with its beautiful 9-kilometer River Esplanade.

It is incumbent upon the council to evaluate if the Parex is consistent with Mr. Marcos’ vision, and ensure that a massive expressway won’t be built over it that would cast a shadow on its waters. Think of the Skyway obscuring the Pasig River below it.

For sure, Metro Manila needs a better transportation infrastructure to solve its perennial traffic congestion, and the Pasig River, with its ferry system, is a vital component of the solution to that problem. It definitely makes sense for the President to issue an EO recognizing the Pasig’s role in transport connectivity.

Living river

However, it makes better sense for the infrastructure component of the Pasig River rehabilitation and development program to preserve the natural character of the waterway, thus respecting its historical, cultural, environmental, and recreational nature.

If we go by the President’s enthusiastic speech, there is no room for a hulking highway running above the river. “We envision civic spaces where our children will play, our seniors relax, families [can] exercise, artists can showcase their talents, and the creative can display their wares,” he said.

Going by the President’s words, he envisions the Pasig as “a living river” with “safe walkways and bikeways along its banks, greener corridor, and a string of parks for communities nearby” as well as urban gardens, rain-harvesting facilities, and exhibit areas for green technology.

It’s a worthy vision—environmentally ideal, culturally sensitive, and a robust hub for interaction among nearby communities. But while his recent EO created the agency that will oversee the project, the President should go further and make sure that previous plans to build a concrete infrastructure over the river would be, well, water under the bridge. Only then can the PBBM project truly live up to his name.