PRRC, LLDA plan to shut down establishments polluting Pasig River
Water lilies surround a dredger at the Manggahan Floodway in Cainta, Rizal, which was built in 1986 at the cost of P1.11 billion to reduce flooding along Pasig River. RAFFY LERMA / FILE PHOTO
The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) and the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) are planning to shut down establishments that pollute the historic Pasig River.
The two government agencies made the statement after inspecting commercial establishments that were earlier identified to have been polluting the river.
PRRC Executive Director Jose Antonio Goitia and LLDA General Manager Jaime C. Medina led the inspection and checking of the permits of the establishments and the inspection of their wastewater treatment facilities.
Goitia and Medina did not identify the establishments but said they would not hesitate to close down these commercial establishments for violating environmental laws.
The PRRC also previously raided a residential area in Baseco Compound in Tondo, Manila, after residents there complained of the bad odor coming from piggeries in the area.
A team by the agency reportedly saw the wastes coming from the piggeries directly being dumped into Pasig River, which is a violation of the Solid Waste Management Act.
According to Goitia, these were only some of the measures being undertaken by PRRC to revive Pasig River.
The agency which is under the Office of the President of the Philippines was created in January 1999 by virtue of Executive Order No. 54, as amended by Executive Order No. 65. It is tasked to be the lead agency in protecting the Pasig River and its tributaries.
On December 21, 2017, the PRRC entered into a memorandum of cooperation with the LLDA where it was expressed that the two agencies will work together to identify, enforce and penalize all acts and omissions in violation of R.A. No. 3931 or the Pollution Control Law on all sources of pollution – industrial, commercial and domestic – that contribute to the degradation of the Pasig River. Marilyn Montano
