A view of the Pasig River at the Ayala Bridge, which connects Ermita and San Miguel districts of Manila. (NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer file photo)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said he wants a fundamental makeover for the Pasig River as the government launched the showcase area for the Pasig River Urban Development (PRUD).
Dubbed as the Pasig Bigyang Buhay Muli, the PRUD is a pet project of First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos. The government wants to transform the river into an economic hub.
“The transformation we would like to see in Pasig River is not cosmetic in nature, we will not paper over the river’s fundamental problems, nor whitewash its drive while leaving the old and rotten still there,” Marcos said.
“We want a river whose transformation sinks to the very bottom,” added Marcos.
The President acknowledged that the Pasig River will not be like it used to be.
“We may never restore the river back to its pre-colonial, pristine condition, but we can revive it to serve the present, while preserving it for the future,” said Marcos.
The said project is purely privately funded, needing an estimated P18 billion.