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With a population of almost 2 million and an area of 43 square kilometers, Manila is at the top of the list when it comes to the most densely populated cities, second only to Male in the Maldives. There is also diversity when it comes to ethnic groups in Manila since many locals from other provinces see it as a place of opportunity while foreigners gravitate towards its accommodation of English (though Tagalog is still the most spoken language in the region). The city is predominantly Catholic but there are also Sikh, Buddhist, Islamic, and other places of worship.

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Throughout the history of the Philippines, Manila has always been considered a hub for business and trade, with the Spaniards establishing the Manila-Acapulco trade route which brought goods from Europe, Africa, and Hispanic America across the Pacific Islands to Southeast Asia and vice versa. Up to this day, the city is still considered the nation’s principal port but it has also become home to textile manufacturing, printing and publishing, as well as chemical processing.

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When I was younger, I used to pass the Pasig River multiple times a day and see clumps of trash on its brownish-green surface. At this point, it has already been declared biologically dead for 2 decades and I just can’t help but wonder what it looked like during its hay-day…

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When I was younger, I used to pass the Pasig River multiple times a day and see clumps of trash on its brownish-green surface. At this point, it has already been declared biologically dead for 2 decades and I just can’t help but wonder what it looked like during its hay-day…

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Rivers are important because they serve as habitats for various species, provide livelihood for different communities, and are sources of fresh water among many other things which is why we should do our part to preserve these bodies of water. They could also symbolize human health since water is vital in our functioning, and as a student nurse, this is the reason why the current state of the Pasig River is so concerning.

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(Not So) Fun Facts about the Pasig River

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(Not So) Fun Facts about the Pasig River

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The Pasig River accounts for 6.43% of the world's ocean plastic pollution, dumping 38,000 tons of plastic each year.

60% of the pollution in the river is domestic waste coming from households, 33% is industrial waste, and 7% is solid waste.

Standards for dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand, which are indicators of a river's ecological health, were not met.

Out of the 4.4 million people living along the river, only 600,000 or 12% are serviced by the sewerage system that treats domestic wastewater before their discharge.

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Bodies of water have always been the birthplace of civilizations, from the Tigris-Euphrates river system of the Mesopotamians to the flooding Nile of the Egyptians. The fresh water and fertile soil surrounding these rivers are essential for agriculture. Thus, many people flock to these places with the promise of prosperity. In a similar way, a lot of individuals from different provinces move to Manila in hopes of better opportunities which has led to overpopulation. This problem combined with poor urban planning and governance has resulted in unsafe, unsustainable communities along the Pasig River.

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Former governments of the Philippines have tried to remove the informal settler’s in several ways, and when these efforts were unsuccessful, walls were built along the esteros to disguise the settlements.

The government has a top-down approach to the Pasig River rehabilitation efforts, by not prioritising the needs of the informal settlers. Previous studies show us that such approaches affect the urban poor negatively.

The governmental system is missing both the incentives and tools to include the urban poor in the urban development.

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Pasig River Rehabilitation and the Urban Poor: A case study of informal settlers' fight to stay in Manila

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The Philippines is one of the world's most urbanised developing countries. High poverty levels in rural areas and uncontrolled migration to the cities have led to a severe housing problem in the National Capital Region. The housing problem has led to

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The proposed Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) is feared by heritage advocates to be Metro Manila's next big photobomber - a 19.4-kilometer concrete dent in the already patchy landscape of the metropolis.

In an illustration on Twitter, architect and urban planner Paulo Alcazaren showed how PAREX's first segment alone would affect several significant heritage sites in the metro, including a number of structures that are part of the historic walled city of Intramuros - the Aduana Building, the Maestranza Walls, and Fort Santiago.

Here are the heritage sites and structures that would be affected by the proposed PAREX's first segment. All these are protected by RA 10066. pic.twitter.com/MyK4oUSWnL
- Paulo Alcazaren (@pinoyurbanist) September 30, 2021

The drawing also showed how construction of the expressway would affect the Rizal Shrine, Arroceros Forest Park, the Manila Post Office, Quezon Bridge, and Jones Bridge.

Aside from these sites being protected by Republic Act No. 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, Alcazaren pointed out that any project would have to get clearance from a number of government institutions across various local government units.

"All of these structures are protected," Alcazaren told Rappler.

Ramon Ang, president of PAREX proponent San Miguel Corporation, denied that the expressway would affect heritage sites. He said that contrary to social media posts, "PAREX will not run on the Intramuros side, but on the other side, along Binondo."

"By placing the alignment on the other side, we can avoid any significant impact on Intramuros, and actually use the PAREX to showcase our heritage sites to users, including tourists. The area will also become more accessible to more Filipinos, via the planned Bus Rapid Transit system," he said, as quoted on ABS-CBN.

However, Alcazaren said that even if built on the other side, there are still heritage sites that will be affected.

"Even if [PAREX] were on the other side, the river at that point is only 100 or [fewer] meters wide. That means, even at the other side, okay it may be protected from the heritage buildings that I just pointed out...but you have the heritage building of El Hogar and the First National City Bank on the other side. Either side you take, it will compromise half a dozen [heritage sites], at least," he said.

The destruction of even one heritage building, he stressed, is already a loss: "A single heritage building once demolished; that's lost forever."

'The cradle of Tagalog civilization'

Alcazaren pointed out that the river itself is full of history, once the only method of moving goods in and around Manila.

"Without the Pasig River, Manila could not have developed. The Pasig River was our skyway before. The only method of moving goods and people until the late 19th century was really by water," Alcazaren said.

Heritage advocacy group Renacimiento Manila even described the river as "the cradle of Tagalog civilization."

"Long before the arrival of the Spaniards, communities had already established themselves near the mouth of the river, belonging to the barangays of Rajah Sulayman and Rajah Lakandula," they said in a feature on their website for World Rivers Day on September 26.

In the same release, they listed down some 40 architecturally significant structures along the Pasig River.

In addition to the sites already mentioned by Alcazaren, Renacimiento Manila mentioned the Lichauco House, which was built in the mid-1800s and served as a refuge for Manilenyos during the World War II; a number of buildings along Escolta; the Goldenberg Mansion, which was built in the 19th century and became the site of the country's first senate session in 1916; and the Coronado House - one of the last few Spanish-era houses still standing in Makati.

"The project may put at risk of destruction and diminish the significance of these heritage resources. This elevated expressway will reshape the landscape and rob the Tagalogs (t aga-ilog) of their cultural identity, which is a constitutional right," Renacimiento Manila said.

'A city without a past'

Why is heritage conservation so important? For one, Alcazaren said it has a positive impact on tourism, as seen in cities like Vigan, Ilocos Sur, and Singapore.

Alcazaren, who worked for the Singapore government for two years on the city-state's conservation areas, explained that in the early 1980s, Singapore's tourism income started to go down, with visitors deciding not to come "because a lot of Singapore was being demolished."

"So the government did a 180 and set up Singapore-style conservation areas...and that is what brings people to Singapore; it's the juxtaposition of the old and the new; that's why you go there. Without that, and if it's all just buildings, if you get there and it's just the same as San Francisco and New York, why do you come halfway across the world to visit something in your own backyard?" he said.

With heritage conservation, Metro Manila has the same tourism potential.

Less measurable but perhaps more deeply affecting is the impact of heritage on a people's identity.

"If we erase our heritage and history, we are a city without a past. We have no anchor to anything, and therefore it does not help us develop any sense of place or belonging," Alcazaren said. "So if we do that as a general policy of government for the rest of the country, then we are a nation without a past, a nation without a heritage, and therefore - if you want to wax poetic - a nation without a soul." - Rappler.com

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How PAREX puts Metro Manila's heritage in danger - and why you should care

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The proposed Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) is feared by heritage advocates to be Metro Manila's next big photobomber - a 19.4-kilometer concrete dent in the already patchy landscape of the metropolis.

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Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is a coastal city that sits at the mouth of the Pasig River. It was named after the mangroves that grew along its shores known as nilad, with native locals generally referring to the place as “may nilad” which translates to “there is nilad”. Once a marshy shore along the bay, it has now transformed into one of the most urbanized cities in the country, facing various problems such as overpopulation, traffic congestion, pollution, and crime.

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Founded in 2013 by Dutch inventor Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit foundation that develops and scales technologies with the aim of ridding the world’s oceans of plastic. Eight interceptors are currently deployed around the world, with the majority in Southeast Asia and the remainder in the Caribbean; the organization is currently working with governments all over the world to deploy in more rivers.

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Explaining the Interceptor | Cleaning Rivers | The Ocean Cleanup

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The 7 Year Relocation Program and Other Efforts

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The 7 Year Relocation Program and Other Efforts

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Aside from the relocation plans which are already being criticized, other efforts to rehabilitate the Pasig River include:

Mandatory localized sewage treatment.

Sanitation projects for secondary sewage households.

Expansion of community-based solid waste management.

However, since the abolishment of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission under President Duterte, these tasks have been allocated to different agencies such as the Manila Bay Task Force, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

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Manila’s Informal Settlers Face Relocation in Exchange for Clean Bay

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The Philippine government has begun the process of relocating more than 200,000 families living along waterways to restore Manila Bay, the main body of water in the capital.Some residents worry about...

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Photo by the Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns on Facebook

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Advocating for the Pasig River and being vocal about its wellbeing is another way we can aid in its development. Social media has given us the ability to voice out our opinions and come together despite the limitations COVID has set. Movements such as #IlogPASIGlahin and #NoToParex are some examples of people coming together to amplify the voices of scientists who are so often ignored by the government.

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Castelo, M. (2019, October 2). Manila's informal settlers face relocation in exchange for Clean Bay. Pulitzer Center. Retrieved February 2022, from https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/manilas-informal-settlers-face-relocation-exchange-clean-bay

Castillo, L., & Castillo, N. (2016). Chasing Manila Bay’s Sunset. The Shoestring Diaries. photograph. Retrieved 2022, from https://shoestringdiary.wordpress.com/2017/04/17/chasing-manila-bays-sunset/.

City Data. (2008). Manila. Economy - Manila. Retrieved February 21, 2022, from http://www.city-data.com/world-cities/Manila-Economy.html

De Guzman, M. (2021). Philstar Global. photograph. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/11/06/2139334/quiapo-church-welcomes-more-devotees.

Explaining the Interceptor | Cleaning Rivers . (2019). Youtube. Retrieved February 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm1rH70wfJo.

Gorme, J. B., Maniquiz, M. C., Song, P., & Kim, L.-H. (2010). The water quality of the Pasig River in the City of Manila, Philippines: Current status, management and future recovery. Environmental Engineering Research, 15(3), 173–179. https://doi.org/10.4491/eer.2010.15.3.173

Lago, A. T. (2021, October 10). How Parex puts Metro Manila's heritage in Danger – and why you should care. RAPPLER. Retrieved February 2022, from https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/arts-culture/how-parex-metro-manila-heritage-danger-you-should-care/

Nett, J. (2020). The Oregon Encyclopedia. photograph. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/media-collections/manila-galleon/?grid=1#the-route-of-the-manila-galleon.

Onate, L. E. (2015). Pasig River Rehabilitation and the Urban Poor: A case study of informal settlers ' fight to stay in Manila. Academia. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.academia.edu/29828727/Pasig_River_Rehabilitation_and_the_Urban_Poor_A_case_study_of_informal_settlers_fight_to_stay_in_Manila.

Salita, D. C. (2022, January 5). People of Manila. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 21, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Manila/People#ref12358

u/SyslogForwarder. (2018). Reddit. photograph. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/8i4t8d/pasig_river_dividing_makati_and_mandaluyong/.