Duterte names DENR as new chair of Pasig River rehab commission 

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has transferred the chairmanship of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, by authority of the President, signed Executive Order (EO) No. 90, which repealed EO 54 signed in 1999.

Under the new EO, the DENR secretary or his authorized representative will be the chairman of the PRRC while the chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority or his authorized representative will be the co-chair.

Members of the commission will be the secretaries or the representatives of the Department of Public Works and Highways, DBM, Department of Tourism, Department of Transportation, Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of National Defense, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Office of the Executive Secretary, and three from the private sector to be appointed by the President.

The EO said “there is a need for close coordination and oversight of all ongoing efforts of the national government relative to the clean-up and rehabilitation of major waterways in the Metro Manila.”

In 2019, Duterte signed Administrative Order No. 16, saying “the DENR has been tasked to lead the Manila Bay Task Force, which shall formulate remedial measures using engineering and technological interventions to improve the water quality of the Manila Bay.”

The EO cited that Republic Act (RA) No. 9275 or the “Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004,” mandated the DENR “to exercise jurisdiction over all aspects of water pollution, and to take measures, using available methods and technologies, to prevent and abate such pollution.”

The EO said that except for the amendments provided in EO No. 90, “all other provisions of EO No. 54 shall remain unchanged.” /jpv

Check the EO below: