Introduction

Water is a major constituent of every organism and; thus, the most important resource to man. Rivers in
Metro Manila are not only a good source of water and food, but also provide the most efficient transport
systems. Rio Pasig or the Pasig River was Manila’s lifeline and center of economic activity. During pre-
Hispanic times, some of the prominent kingdoms of Namayan, Maynila and Tondo thrived along its
banks. American urban planner Daniel H. Burnham described Manila in 1910 as the “Venice of the Far
East”. Esteros or canals all emptied into the Pasig River from various districts and municipalities of Manila.
Houses along the banks had the view of the water which no doubt fed their gardens and provided them with
water for bathing.

Brief History

The bombing of the city in 1945 by the Japanese destroyed a large part of the north banks and left much of
the city completely destroyed. When the city redeveloped its riverbanks, the banks that used to be a source
of recreation became a depository for the city’s industrial waste. Rivers were treated as “back of the house”
encouraging squatting or informal settlements along the banks. Now, Taga ilog is the Tagalog word for ‘the
river people’ which is a derogatory term to describe the urban poor living along the waterways in the NCR.
It is associated to the dirty water and to being an eyesore to others.

Key Concepts

The increasing urbanization not matching with housing delivery by urban local authorities has been a topical
issue resulting in the increasing sprawling urban informal settlement. Metro Manila, being the Philippines
capital and home to many houses, business establishments and industries, is the most urbanized region in the
Philippines. Environmental problems in Metro Manila are more pronounced in slums since they are formed
in environments where exposure to all forms of pollution is highest. Moreover, slums usually operate
outside society’s norms thus environmental laws more often are not enforced. Not only do typhoons
routinely upend their existence, but they also face a traumatizing cycle of eviction and relocation.

The Pasig River of today is just a memory of what it used to be. With industries cropping up along the
banks of the river, and temporary dwellers lining up every space available along the esteros and the river
itself, it has become so polluted that ecologists have considered it unable to sustain life. Families live in
houses on stilts or under the bridges, in sub-human conditions, where they present a danger to themselves
and to the vessels using the river. These settlements have no sanitary facilities and their liquid and solid
wastes are discharged straight into the river. With the continuous dumping of wastes, the river bed has
become more and more silted with organic matter and no biodegradable rubbish. This results in serious
flooding along the river, affecting nearby communities and carrying polluted water to the households living
close to the river.

Programs

In the early 1990’s the Pasig River Rehabilitation Program (PRRP) was initiated. Most of these clean-up
projects have been unsuccessful due to a lack of support and interest from the affected communities and the
business sector. One year after Typhoon Ketsana, the government funded research established that the
reason why the impacts of the typhoon had been so severe, was a lack of discharge capacity of the city’s
main waterways and tributaries “Removal of informal settlers and other structural
obstructions/encroachments located along the rivers, creeks and esteros” as the solution. The three meter
easement rule of 1976 was also implemented. The said benefits of the relocation are to achieve the
president’s goal of “zero casualty” due to flooding, by removing families from so-called danger zones and
develop a functioning flood-management system (Philippine Information Agency, 2013). Unlike
rehabilitation efforts in the past, the PRRC now focus on twelve of the Pasig River tributaries, locally known
as esteros, as the first steps to rehabilitation.

Estero De San Miguel case study

The first informal settler’s in Legarda moved there about thirty two years ago. In the early 1990’s, the
government made their first attempts at evicting the people of Legarda. The eviction was never realized
since the threat of demolition caused the community to start organizing themselves, for instance by
protesting and holding vigils outside of the Manila City Hall. In 2010, President Aquino publicly
discouraged distant relocation of ISFs, instead the relocation would be limited to either near-city or in-city
relocation sites. By supporting the then senator Aquino in his presidential election, the federation and NML
managed to get the president’s support for their agenda. In 2011 President Aquino approved the allocation of
a 50 Billion Philippine pesos (Php) fund to a shelter program for the urban poor, giving priority to informal
settlers living in so called danger areas of the NCR. Since the NML have to consider the three meter
easement rule, the land that is left for construction in Legarda will be too small to house all of the families of
the community. When the project is completed, though, only 5 families per compound will be eligible for
on-site relocation. Others will be relocated out-of-city.

This case study was selected primarily because of its general development status and to demonstrate varying
partnership arrangements with external groups. Legarda also had an active local community organization as
well as an NGO partner which worked with the Manila government in site upgrading and community
development.

Environmental concerns in Legarda

Urbanization and economic growth have

created environmental problems which are
particularly related to Sanitation, air &
water pollution, flooding and congestion.

Air pollution
Air quality in metropolitan areas has
deteriorated fast partly due to pollution that
is generated domestically, either from
stationary or mobile sources. The poor management of solid waste also contributes to air pollution
caused by unsanitary or open dumpsites and the inappropriate burning of waste.

Water Pollution
Water pollution is very evident in urban areas specifically Metro Manila. About 35% to 58% of the
organic pollution of our waters comes from domestic sources both solid waste and sanitation. The
inadequate solid waste management program contributes to a very serious water pollution problem in
cities. It is estimated that in the urban areas, waste generation is around half a kilo (0.5kg) per person per
day. Furthermore, Leachate from solid waste contaminate the soil and the waters, both groundwater and
surface waters.

Congestion
Congestion is more pronounced in slums since these communities are heavily populated. Living space is
inadequate (about 3 to 5 sqm per person) and houses are attached to each other with very thin walls in
between them. With land scarcity in urban areas, it is expected that high population growth resulting
from both net migration and net natural increase will largely be absorbed by existing slums. The extent
of congestion in slums is seen in the population growth occurring in barangays or districts with large
concentration of slum communities.

Sanitation
Bad habitat has adverse implications to health and peace of mind that deepens income poverty. The main
asset of the poor is labor but bad environment makes this asset vulnerable to poor health and mental
stress. The impact on physical and mental health reduces the productivity of the poor, causes fragile
family relations due to irritation and frustration, poor school performance of children and higher
vulnerability to commit crimes and violence. Slum poverty is primarily urban environmental poverty.

Flooding
The waterways of Manila have in the past functioned as a natural buffer to the region during typhoon
seasons by draining out any excess water. However, the river is now contributing to an intensification of
flooding due to pollution such as trash blockages. A large part of the settlement occurring from rapid
urbanization is informal and unregulated. Many structures were allowed or tolerated to be built on river
floodplains or along the foreshore, over swamps or above the tidewater level on the coast. Most slums
are formed in low lying areas thus aside from flooding due to natural causes (e.g. sea surges).
Government poor enforcement of urban regulation and planning systems has caused flooding problems.
Other contributing factors to the flooding problem are the lack of attention to waste management and to
the construction and maintenance of drainage channels.

References:

O˜nate, L. (2015). Pasig River Rehabilitation and the Urban Poor: A case study of informal settlers’ fight to
stay in Manila. A Masteral thesis in Global Studies. University in Gothenburg. Retrieved September 17, 2018
from
https://www.academia.edu/29828727/Pasig_River_Rehabilitation_and_the_Urban_Poor_A_case_study_of_in
formal_settlers_fight_to_stay_in_Manila

Carcellar, N., Z. O. Hipolito, et al. (2011). Addressing disaster risk reduction through community-rooted
interventions in the Philippines: experience of the Homeless People's Federation of the Philippines.
Environment and Urbanization 23 (2), 365{381.

Gov.ph (2010). MMDA { Flood reduction measures in Metro Manila.

http://www:gov:ph/2010/09/27/mmda-flood-reduction-measures-in-metro-manila/. (Accessed 17 Sept. 2018).