“Ilog Pasig: River of Life” – How did it get polluted?

Pasig River (Ilog Pasig in Filipino) is a river in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for 25km, it is line by Metro Manila on each side. It is the most popular river in the country because of its location which flow almost all of the major cities in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Before the 1930’s, The Pasig River was a beautiful body of water that inspired poets, artist and ordinary people. It is called the River of Life for the Filipinos. In this river lies the living of the Filipino people because there you may catch fishes which can be sold and eat as well. Here also can be a passage way from one part of the city to another which can be a source of living too. Also people may get clear and fresh and cool drinking water from it.

How did the Pasig River get polluted? With the industrialization of Manila, factories started to line up along the River. The factories releases liquid wastes (some solid too) to the river which fasten the contamination of it. An oil depot was built along the side of the river on Pandacan, Manila. This depot was one of the major concerns that polluted the Pasig River.

As time goes by, Metro Manila became overcrowded because of people from province  came over to Manila trying their luck and seeking for good fortunes. They build houses anywhere in the city like alongside the rails of the train, under the bridges and on the sides of the river including the Pasig River. Those people are also one of the major responsible for polluting the river. Their trashes, wastes and even human manure dump it to the river like that the river was a big trash can for them.

Several projects for the government and some private groups starts their own project to rehabilitate and clean the former river of life for the Filipinos. The projects are: Piso para sa Pasig, Sagip Pasig, Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig and Run for Pasig all done by the ABS-CBN (TV network in Manila). Pollution in the Pasig River  is the biggest environmental issue in the Philippines that’s why many people want to help in giving life again to the river.

Sources:

www.thegreentheory.com/philippines-environmental-issues-how-did-the-pasig-river-get-polluted/

 - Lowell Dagaraga