Blood lines

Like the vital arteries in the body’s cardiovascular system, the esteros or estuaries of old Manila enabled the city to breathe, carrying the clean waters of the Pasig River into the city’s limbs and extensions. The clear, moving waters of the esteros were as blood to the old city, reflecting its vibrant character.

But the last century has been cruel to Manila, especially so to the esteros, even as the city became part of the larger and dynamic entity that is Metro Manila. Uncontrolled development, the migration of informal settlers drawn to the promise of the city lights, and the inaction/collusion of responsible officials have transformed the esteros into foul-smelling and unmoving canals clogged with all manner of garbage. What was once the city’s natural way of cleansing itself became a source of disease, reflecting the urban blight holding the metropolis in its grip.

It had occurred to many people that the esteros badly needed cleaning, but the idea was often shot down simply because the undertaking seemed too big, too difficult, for any one agency or group to handle. But apparently, all it takes is cooperation, and a strong will. In 2009, work began on an ambitious project called “Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig,” which was launched by the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources through the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), whose ultimate goal is the revitalization of the Pasig River in seven years. The first beneficiary of the project was trash-saturated Estero de Paco deep in Manila.

In just a year, what was once considered too difficult became a reality. The estero was cleared and dredged, and easements constructed along its edge. Most importantly, over 1,200 families living on the banks of the estero were relocated to the Bayan ni Juan resettlement site in Calauan, Laguna. “There is no way we can accomplish this gargantuan task without everyone working together: the city government, the military, the police, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, our generous donors, and most especially the people—the market vendors and the communities living alongside the estero,” environmentalist Gina Lopez said during the KBPIP’s first anniversary ceremony in 2010.

Lopez quoted studies stating that life in the Estero de Paco area had improved tremendously since the waterway was cleaned up. The area escaped flooding in that year and the crime rate in the seven barangays neighboring the estero went down by 40 percent. The value of the properties in the area rose and the community saved P49 million a year in medical expenses now that the primary source of its residents’ ailments had been removed. “Maybe it is psychological due to a more healthy environment. But there is a significant improvement in the health of residents along the estero,” Lopez said.

That bright achievement of the KBPIP is serving as the impetus to move forward with the plan to rehabilitate the Pasig River. Now, the PRRC will focus its efforts on Estero de San Miguel, a waterway that runs right behind Malacañang and is visible to official visitors to the Philippines calling on President Aquino. The estero’s current state is a visual and olfactory affront to ordinary Filipinos who pass along its two-kilometer length every day. Cleaning it would be a practical as well as a highly symbolic gesture, a sign that things are being turned around in the Metro.

What the story of Estero de Paco tells us is that it takes a close and committed working relationship between the private and public sectors to make things happen. The President has pledged P10 billion a year up to 2016 to the cleanup effort. That public move is matched by private initiatives as companies like Tanduay Distillers have backed the project with donations.

The PRRC now looks forward to the possible cleaning of all 48 esteros in Manila, as well as the Pasig River, Manila Bay and even Laguna Lake. It hopes it will receive the same kind of private and public support it is getting now. Asian Development Bank, for one, has stated it would be highly supportive of such an endeavor.

With this continued cleaning of Manila’s metaphorical blood lines, the Pasig River may once again be a living sign of the metropolis’ health rather than its decay. As Lopez put it: “The river is a very important component of a city’s growth. There is no way of accurately measuring the total value of bringing it back to life.”