Rehabilitation efforts in Manila Bay will commence this month, following the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)’s upcoming announcement of establishments found non-compliant with the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2014.

In a press conference held at the DENR head office on Jan 15, Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said that the announcement will be made on Jan 27.

Bayside establishments found without necessary sewage treatment plants (STP) will be identified, notified, and fined, while those with STPs in place but found producing waste with fecal coliform beyond acceptable levels will face similar consequences. Mr. Cimatu said that this was also the first directive of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Fecal coliform levels are measured at most probable number (MPN) per 100 milliliters — roughly the volume of Yakult bottle. As per DENR standards, an MPN reading above 200 is considered unacceptable.

Attached Agency and Supervising Undersecretary for Manila Bay Coordinating Office Sherwin S. Rigor said that his agency will be advising firms on non-biological water treatments, free of harmful chemicals that may cause bacteria to mutate.

DENR is targeting to reduce the bacteria to below 270 MPN by the end of the year, from 330 MPN.

While DENR has yet to arrive at a formal list of violaters, Mr. Cimatu said his team is beginning with establishments along the bay that have been flagged by concerned citizens in the area.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romula-Puyat said hotels will be held to the same standards and processes established during the rehabilitation of Boracay.

“First, we will not give DOT (Department of Tourism) Accreditation unless there is DENR and DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) compliance,” she said. “So, we will follow the same formula what we did in Boracay. Of course, we would be meeting with our stakeholders because they… were a bit surprised, but they should not worry because we will be continuously consulting with them.”

A fine of P20,000 to P200,000 will be imposed to businesses every day they fail to comply with the sewage treatment standards.

Informal settlers (IFS) living along the bay, estimated at over 200,000 families, will be relocated to settlements identified in coordination with LGUs, the National Housing Authority, and similar agencies.

Officials said that relocated IFS communities will be protected by Resettlement governance, assuring that new homes will have water and electricity supply, and most importantly, will be accessible to previously informal settlers working in the Bay Area.

The overall rehabilitation of Manila Bay is expected to last from seven to 10 years. This will involve three phases and a budget of P42.95 billion, covering clean up of priority waterways, relocation of IFS communities, and the implementation of temporary sanitation facilities in IFS communities prior to relocation.