Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu has ordered a check on hotels and establishments around Manila Bay after a change in the color of the bay’s water was recently observed.
“We suspect that this sudden color change from the previous dark blue to turquoise blue is caused by the direct discharge of wastewater from the treatment plants of buildings and establishments in the vicinity,” Cimatu said.
The environment chief made the statement after he personally inspected the Baywalk near SM Mall of Asia (MOA) on March 28 to check the color of the bay in the area.
“I have instructed DENR-NCR and the EMB to conduct a joint investigation on the sudden color change of Manila Bay.”
The environment head also inspected Outfall No. 3 located near SM MOA to check the wastewater being discharged, and instructed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) National Capital Region and the Environmental Management Bureau “to conduct a joint investigation on the sudden color change of Manila Bay.”
At the same time, he instructed DENR Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns Benny Antiporda “to monitor the investigation that will be conducted by the two offices.”
“Appropriate and immediate actions will be taken on who or what caused the incident.”
“We assure the public that the incident is now being investigated by the DENR to find out who is responsible for the discoloration,” said Cimatu adding that “once the investigation is completed, appropriate and immediate actions will be taken on who or what caused the incident.”
A netizen recently uploaded a video of the bay with turquoise blue waters on the social media platform Facebook after noticing the change of its color.
Cimatu is chair of the Manila Bay Inter Agency Task Force tasked to clean the historic bay dubbed as the “Battle for Manila Bay”.
The rehabilitation of Manila Bay is a priority government project.