P43 billion needed for multi-year Manila Bay rehabilitation –DENR

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Monday said that it would take P43 billion and a multi-year inter-agency effort to fully rehabilitate Manila Bay.

“Ito po yung ginawa natin after the issuance of Administrative Order No. 16. Based po sa mga planning ng inter-agency, nag-come up kami ng P43 billion,” DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said during the House budget hearing on the proposed P25,295,589,000 budget for the DENR in 2022.

(This is what we did after the issuance of Administrative Order No. 16. Based on the planning of the inter-agency task force, we came up with the figure of P43 billion.)

Administrative Order No. 16 created a Manila Bay Task Force and expedited the restoration and rehabilitation of the bay.

Leones added that at least P3 billion had been given to the project since 2019.

The undersecretary noted that the funds would be used for different projects that would address the issues at Manila Bay, such as the relocation of residents and the restoration of water quality.

These projects would be implemented in several years and would involve different agencies.

In 2022, the DENR proposed around P1 billion for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay, which is one of DENR’s top 10 priority programs for 2022.

Meanwhile, DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu appealed to lawmakers to allow more funds for the national greening program, which was “drastically” cut from their budget  proposal.

“The single program that was cut drastically in our proposal is the national greening program and for this, we would like to manifest our request if ever this will be considered,” he said. — DVM, GMA News