Sewerage system for Metro Manila delayed by 20 years

MANILA, Philippines—Completion of a planned sewerage system for Metro Manila, which has one of the world’s most polluted waterways, is set to be delayed by over 20 years, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Friday.

Two private companies had been contracted to build sewerage and treatment plants for the 11-million-strong Metro Manila area, but a planned completion date of 2009 was set to be delayed until about 2031, said Jonas Leones, assistant director of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau.

Only a small part of the city’s waste water is treated, while most of the rest runs into the Pasig River, described in a 2006 United Nations Development Programme report as one of the world’s most polluted waterways.

“The Pasig River is the septic tank of Metro Manila,” Environment Secretary Ramon Paje admitted before a Senate hearing earlier this week, according to Leones.

The government wants to fine the two water concessionaires — Manila Water and Maynilad — more than P100 million ($2.2 million) for their failure to complete the project on time but the issue has gone to court, Leones said.

Domestic waste accounts for some 70 percent of the pollution in the 25-kilometer (16-mile) river.

The government is trying several measures to clean up the Pasig but much of the problem is attributed to millions of squatters living in slums on its banks, said an aide to Paje, Anna Liza Te.

“This is an urban poor problem. It needs long term solutions like relocation,” she said. The World Bank estimates that up to half of Manila residents live in slums. –Agence France-Presse