Manila Bay's discoloration could be caused by pollutants, says PCG

On Facebook, a certain Randy Raga shared a video showing the "transformation" of Manila Bay where a portion of the body of water seemingly turned into turquoise color. Taken on Wednesday, March 25, the raw and unfiltered video was shot from a floor in a luxury hotel in the Mall of Asia complex.

In the caption, Randy dubbed Manila Bay as the "new Boracay" because of its bluish color. As of this writing, the Facebook video has more than 51,000 views, 2,400 reactions, and 2,700 shares.

Speculations arose that this is an effect of the absence of human activities and marine traffic following the implementation of enhanced community quarantine brought about by COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) debunked this theory as Manila Bay's discoloration could be an indication that water pollution in the area is getting worse due to pollutants, according to a report of Chino Gaston in 24 Oras on Thursday, March 26.

"Nagkakaroon ng discoloration ['yung tubig] minsan kapag merong mga pollutants or 'yung mga pool na may chlorine na [tapos] nag-discharge sila ng water," said PCG Spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo.

This is not the first time that this happened as there have been previous reports of a similar discoloration back in 2014.

PCG will further investigate the sudden change of color in the waters of Manila Bay as part of its rehabilitation.

According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the quality of water in Manila Bay has improved, however, it is still not safe to swim in the harbor.

Watch Chino Gaston's full report here:

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