Water and Sanitation Summit in Manila, Philippines
Rapidly-growing Taguig City and Manila Water Services Inc. (MWSI) led local governments in hosting a city-wide water and sanitation summit Friday.
It was participated by over 400 representatives from the academe, private sector, barangays and civil society groups aimed at engaging the city’s commitment to help save our dying environment.
Aptly themed “Isang Luntiang Taguig: Tubig at Kalikasan, Aking Pangangalagaan”, the event tackled urgent topics on environmental degradation and the sources of pollution.
The initiative to conduct a symposium was a partnership between the local government of Taguig and its barangays, the Manila Bay Commission, Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), World Bank, MWSS and East Zone concessionaire Manila Water Company, Inc.
Leny Santos-Borja, current head of the Environment Regulation Department of LLDA, presented a detailed state of Laguna Lake and the extent of the pollution dumped into the freshwater lake by the cities in Metro Manila every day.
“Over the years, the lake has been absorbing huge amounts of pollution from domestic and industrial sources. These have been the bases of the Supreme Court Mandamus requiring the provision, installation, operation maintenance of the necessary and adequate wastewater treatment facilities in Metro Manila, Rizal and Cavite and wherever they are needed at the earliest possible time, “explains Santos-Borja.
Dr. Elisea “Bebet” Gozun, former Environment Secretary and advisory committee member of the Manila Bay Coordinating Council reiterated that “this court order is an emotional message about the urgent need to revive the rivers now for the next generation.”
Responding to the call for the construction of waste water facilities as a major means of combating water pollution, Mark Mulingbayan, Manila Water’s head of Environment and Sustainability Planning shared the East Zone concessionaire’s environmental initiatives that would help in reviving the polluted water bodies in the metropolis.
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