The view from a ferry: Pasig River up close

[Freddy]

The view from a ferry: Pasig River up close
By gemma_bagayaua
Created 02/23/2009 - 12:36

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/23/2009 12:36 PM


Curious students take in the view from the deck of the Pasig FerryI have tried all the modes of mass transportation in Manila: jeepneys, FXs, taxis, buses, railways (MRT, LRTs 1 and 3), shuttles of different colors, tricycles, padyaks. Riding public transports is a way of seeing the same place from a new perspective. For instance, Intramuros looked different from a kalesa; and Marikina on a bicycle looked idyllic. So when I heard of the ferry service two years ago, my initial reaction was to try it out.
 
"I wouldn't recommend it," a former co-worker in a travel magazine said. "The stench of the river is bad. There are too many squatters and you suddenly see unpleasant things floating."
 
The same notion of the Pasig ferry had caused the low flow of passengers when it started in 2007. Before the recent ferry service, there were two ferry lines in the 1990s, the Magsaysay Lines and the Starcraft Ferry. Both only lasted for a year because of low volume of passengers, and water pollution.
 
Two years later, the ferry ride was resurrected and it became an alternative mode of transportation in the Manila area. The ride starts from Napindan to Intramuros and stops by about 15 stations in-between. The ferry is well-equipped with television, a decent loo, safety jackets under the seats, and radio and sound system.
 
The ferry gets its most number of riders in the mornings and during late afternoons. During rush hour, the ferry's 150-passenger capacity is often filled, some even prefer to stand at the front of the ferryboat while watching cars and students and locals along the banks.
 
Efficiency wise, the travel time takes an hour and thirty minutes from Napindan to Intramuros. Travel time from one station to the other lasts for almost five minutes. The ticket cost, however, was undeniably pricier than the usual mass transport. My one-way trip from Guadalupe to Intramuros cost me P45 and the trip lasted for an hour. Tickets range from P25 to P60 depending on the nearness of the destination. An immediate come-on is that the trip is traffic-free, though trip intervals usually range from 30 minutes to two hours.
 
Sights
 
I lost count of the numerous types of trees along the river, there were simply too much to be written down. I never saw Pasig up close before this trip and so expected the worst—countless shanties of illegal dwellers, floating garbage, murky brownish depths that give off a pungent otherworldly smell. Cross out all these preconceived notions of the dead river, it looked different and greener now.
 
True, there were garbage plastic cups and fastfood Styrofoams and slippers and coconut husks, but they can be counted by the fingers. Non-flowering water lilies amount to majority of what floats and can be seen, unless you count the LPG barges and boats that ply the same route. The water takes the color of brownish-green to brown in some areas.
 
The obvious highlight of the trip is Malacañang, which unfortunately remains for the eyes only. I rummaged through my bag to look for a twenty-peso bill to compare. Unfortunately, I found none and tried to remember the picturesque view instead. In the end, all I remembered were the white calachuchis falling on the riverside garden.
 
Inside the air-conditioned Pasig River ferryGood photogenic views are the Post Office Building and the church along Hulo station. If I had those kick-ass cameras and equipment bird photographers use, I would have taken photos of the numerous white birds that glided toward the surface of the water from PUP station to Intramuros.
 
The stations are not much look-worthy and enticing, though. The parks along Guadalupe looked cleaner and better as compared to the unkempt ones near Intramuros. Likewise, the Intramuros station offers a view of the unpainted decaying back of the Immigration building, which was not very pleasant. The good thing, though, is that jeepneys ply in front of the station.
 
Sometimes, it was monotonous. I felt sleepy and thought of dozing off for a few minutes. The fact that the ferry was moving in a cradle-like state did not help fend off my drowsiness. I looked around and found other passengers, either sleeping or looking out the windows.
 
The trip was definitely better than being in the crowded streets of Manila.
 
Doing the trip was like being in the countryside with trees lining the path and people lounging along the river in the afternoons. From the river you could see churches, or tips of it, decaying factories, and some wooden houses under the bridge. It was also surprising to find numerous schools beside the river. Imagine reading El Filibusterismo and then looking out the window to see Rizal's river. It's a good thing it is cleaner now.
 
Once in a while, I got reminded I'm still in the capital with painted slogans of cities and municipalities on the cemented banks of the river. The ferry cruises through five cities: Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, and Taguig. There are also numerous names and initials vandalized on almost every possible writing spot—walls under the bridge, on factory walls, banks.
 
Indeed, there have been efforts to revive the river. And the success can be seen in the scenes, the ferry service, the river itself, and the numerous reminders and statements like: Ilog PASIGlahin, Navy loves Pasig River Keep it clean always, Panatilihing Malinis ang Ilog Pasig, Resurrecting Ilog Pasig, and Revive the River of our Dreams.
 
In a sleepy weekday afternoon, locals, regardless of age and gender, would wave and deliver a toothy grin to the passing ferry boats. I waved back at a little girl before the Hulo station and she sat back at the park seat, surprised and flushed at my response.
 
Scents

The water does not emit a decomposed sewage-y smell from afar. Take note: from afar. Amazingly, the water smells better in the Intramuros side rather than in the Guadalupe area. When one sits on the river stairs in Guadalupe, one could smell the river emitting an unpleasant rotten smell. In Intramuros, the river smells more sea-like and salty. The only drawback is that once the breeze stops coming from Manila Bay, the pungent smell of dried urine dominates the air.
 
The interiors of the boat are clean and don't have the same burnt smell usually associated with buses or the smell of sweat emitted by passengers. If the river emits a gruesome smell, it stays outside. Overall, the ride was decent, olfactory wise.

Leaving the ferrySounds

"Pwede bang maligo dyan?" I overheard one of the passengers ask another when we saw children bathing in the river. Aware that we were looking, the boys taunted and jumped to the water in a big splash. The sight made me cringe.
 
I would be lying if I say I heard the gentle lapping of the waters against the boat or the sound of bodies hitting the waters. The ferry was shut tight and has a temperate air-conditioning system, a relief for most first-time riders. But I did hear the sound of the engine, ours and the numerous smaller boats that ply the same route, and the reverberations made by the PNR train and LRT 3 on top of our heads.
 
Sometimes, a lonesome house fly would buzz within the enclosed space and passengers would content themselves with a quick slumber. Some would watch movies (Black Hawk Down with French subtitles) on the television and despite the deafening sound of guns and artilleries, the mood remained dreamy and light, not much talking, infrequent whisperings. (First time mo ba? Oo, first time ko.)
 
Considering it was my first trip, I chatted with Myrna, a middle-aged woman who ran some errands in Lawton. She sat beside me, cheerfully noting our location and naming the bridges we passed by. She kindly pointed out that the trip looks better at night, especially the Nagtahan Bridge in Sta. Mesa, which was famed for the changing lights along its  railings.
 
As the ferry reaches its next stop, a ding-dong sound would erupt from the public announcement system and a voice would state the incoming station. Rubber slippers, leather shoes and flat sandals would head slowly for the door. When I reached my Guadalupe stop, I lined behind Myrna and she told me before we parted ways, "It’s less stressful to take this ride. It’s as if we’re not in Manila."
 
I could only nod in agreement.

as of 02/23/2009 12:56 PM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/features/02/23/09/view-ferry-pasig-river-close

[☼ philsdutchie ☺]

Pasig river is niet anders dan een groot open riool, heel misschien gaat daar iets aan gebeuren, maar veel vertrouwen heb ik daar niet in 

7-year cleanup plan for Pasig river

February 23, 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines--The move to resuscitate the dying Pasig River will be introduced to the press and public on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the Makati Park and Garden.

“Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig” is a massive seven-year cleanup that also aims to change people’s consciousness about the river around which the city of Manila sprung.

Spearheaded by ABS-CBN Foundation, in cooperation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, the campaign has the support of seven local government units that abut the river and the Department of Science and Technology.

Welcome remarks will be delivered by Eugenio Lopez III, chair and CEO of ABS-CBN, while the presentation of the campaign will be made by Gina Lopez, managing director of ABS-CBN Foundation

Guest speaker is Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.

Those wishing to join the press launch may take the shuttle service under the northbound Guadalupe MRT station between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

More information may be obtained from Kane Errol Cho of ABS-CBN Corporate Communications Division through mobile 0918-9095263.

Diane Pineda

[Freddy]

Media to play crucial role in Pasig clean-up

Gemma Bagayaua, abs-cbnNEWS.com/ Newsbreak | 02/25/2009 11:55 AM


A hundred years ago, renowned American urban planner Daniel Burnham compared Manila Bay to the bay of Naples, the Pasig River to the winding river of Paris and Manila’s esteros to the canals of Venice.

Considered the cradle of the Tagalog civilization, the river was witness both to significant events in the country’s history and to daily lives of people in the fledging city of Manila.

Nowadays, however, Pasig is no more than a ghost of its old self. Apart from water lilies and janitor fish, hardly any life form survives in its murky recesses. Many of its tributaries are clogged by garbage from Metro Manila’s households.

Whatever happened?

Toilet Bowl
Squatter settlements along Metro Manila's waterways, such as this settlement along the banks of Estero de la Reyna in Tayuman, Tondo, contribute to the pollution in Pasig River. [Photo courtesy of the ABS-CBN Foundation]

Somewhere along the way, people’s view of the river changed, Gina Lopez, managing director of the ABS-CBN Foundation (AFI), said at the launch of Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig, the latest in a long string of efforts to rehabilitate the country’s most prominent river system.

From being a recreation venue and a source of food and livelihood, the river became the 'dumping ground' of informal settlers who live along the banks of the river and its tributaries, as well as by almost all establishments surrounding it.

An estimated 65% of the pollutants in the Pasig river come from households, 30% from the industrial sector and 5% from solid wastes.

Metro Manila’s 11 million-plus residents, according to studies, produce roughly 440 tons of domestic wastewater every day. The river became the city’s toilet bowl.

Worse, as the city continues to wage its battle against solid waste, the river also became the primary dumping ground. Currently, Metro Manila is reportedly producing as much as 7,000 tons or 31 cubic meters of trash per day. Out of this, about 1,500 tons is dumped daily (and illegally) on private land, creeks, rivers and the Manila Bay.

One river clean up effort after another failed as the source of the pollution—Metro Manila’s population of over 10 million individuals—continued to relentlessly dump waste and garbage into the river and its tributaries.

The problem has gotten so bad that some parts of the San Juan river, one of the Pasig’s main tributaries, are already emitting methane.

This is the situation that the AFI took on in March 2008 when its environment arm, Bantay Kalikasan, entered into a seven year agreeement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to become co-manager of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Project.

The project has since metamorphosed into the Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig which was formally launched yesterday, February 24, at the Makati Park and Garden.

Clean River Zones
This  vision of how the Pasig River can look post clean-up was prepared by the Palafox Associates. [Courtesy of the ABS-CBN Foundation]


The new clean up project will have a two-pronged approach: consciousness raising and physical clean up projects.

To rehabilitate the river, Bantay Kalikasan together with all its partner agencies and organizations proposed a set of strategies which will control pollution at source.

The proposed clean-up includes cleaning up all the 47 tributaries that flow into the main river. In order to do this, Bantay Kalikasan plans to strengthen the Clean River Zones (CRZ) started by the Sagip Pasig Movement. These CRZs are composed of communities residing near the tributaries. The Clean River Zone vision is to have “zero toxic input to the Pasig River.”

To achieve this, solid waste management facilities will be set up in the area to ensure that all wastes, biodegradable and non-biodegradable, will be properly segregated and composted or recycled. One incentive for communities to get involved is the income they are expected to generate from making different products like pails, table tops, chairs, tiles, and bricks out of shredded plastics and melted styrofoam.

To address the problem on wastewater, Manila Water and Maynilad—both concessionaires of the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage System—agreed to do the desludging of all households in the CRZ for free.

In addition to this, Bantay Kalikasan proposes to the Local Government Units a good resettlement program coupled with a viable livelihood program for the informal settlers along the tributaries. (See related story: 'Squatters' relocation a must for Pasig River clean-up’)


Media Component

Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig is not the first effort to clean up the river. There had been a lot of previous efforts, Gina Lopez acknowledged at the project launch on Tuesday, February 24, at the Makati Park and Garden. What is different this time, she said, is the central role the media will be playing in the clean-up campaign. “The media component was missing in previous efforts.”

ABS-CBN Chairman Gabby Lopez assured those present at the launch of the media network’s full support for the project. “We’re excited about this project. The model is the La Mesa Dam. We will apply that model to Pasig.”

Earlier, AFI was also instrumental in transforming and rehabilitating the La Mesa Dam into today’s La Mesa Ecopark, now a popular weekend destination in Quezon City.

The AFI has also been reaching out to major dailies and other networks in respect to the clean-up drive.

The media’s role is crucial because, in order to clean up the river, a change in consciousness is required, Gina Lopez said. “We need to shift consciousness, resurface hope that we can make things happen.”

Any clean-up effort, she explained, is bound to fail if there is no shift in consciousness. “Right now, people treat the river like it’s their toilet bowl.” People, she said, have to start regarding the river again as the “lifeline of our nation.”

Media attention is also important, she said, in order to get local leaders to support and get involved in cleaning up and beautification activities as well as to get them to act on complaints against those violating environmental laws.  “You have to give them a pat in the back when they do good,” she told reporters present at the launch. At the same time, she said, media should also report on government inaction with respect to environmental violations.
 

as of 02/25/2009 12:35 PM

[HD-biker]

Squatter settlements along Metro Manila's waterways, such as this settlement along the banks of Estero de la Reyna in Tayuman, Tondo, contribute to the pollution in Pasig River. [Photo courtesy of the ABS-CBN Foundation]

/25/2009 12:35 PM

We zijn eens van Chinatown (vlakbij) naar Tondo gereden om een paar foto's te maken.

Na de eerste foto van de Pasig wilde Mihmi er al weg, wegens een onveiligheidsgevoel.

Ik durfde mij ook niet verwijderen van de motor, maar wilde er toch nog meerdere foto's nemen,
maar Mihmi    .  .  .  .  .  .  lekker NIET dus   

Willy

[josv]

Riding public transports is a way of seeing the same place from a new perspective.

Daar hebben ze gelijk in. Mooi voorbeeld is Venetie. Pak maar gewoon de bus(boot) en je ziet alles voor maar een habbekrats.
Maar om nu al af te haken als er per ongeluk een drol voorbij komt dobberen 

[Freddy]

We zijn eens van Chinatown (vlakbij) naar Tondo gereden om een paar foto's te maken.

Na de eerste foto van de Pasig wilde Mihmi er al weg, wegens een onveiligheidsgevoel.

Ik durfde mij ook niet verwijderen van de motor, maar wilde er toch nog meerdere foto's nemen,
maar Mihmi    .  .  .  .  .  .  lekker NIET dus   

Willy

Regelmatig in Tondo geweest, ja gewoon binnen dus tussen de mensen en mijzelf nog nooit bang gevoeld. Een van mijn beste Filippijnse drink maatjes (een vrouw trouwens) komt daar vandaan, bij haar ouders op visite. Geweldig het enige dat mij een klein beetje benauwde was de kinder hoorde die mij bijna onder de voet loopte, omdat er nog nooit een blanke daar was geweest, en de zeer oude oma's die even een witte wilde aanraken,

De mannen vonden het geweldig, want menig filipino durft niet daar te komen, veel is ook alleen de naam......noem in Rotterdam de Kruiskade, Binneweg en mensen slaan op de vlucht, zelfs de wijk waar ik vandaan komt staat als slecht aangeschreven, en het grappige is er gebeurd nooit wat..........Zo heb je overal wel wat..........En noem alleen maar Mindanao, en mensen krijgen terstond de schijt of alle moslims slecht zijn en heel Mindanao dood en verderf is met aanslagen........

[HD-biker]

Ik heb mij niet bang gevoeld, ik wilde mij enkel niet verwijderen van m,n motor, bang dat ze die zouden jatten, en zonder motor is het   

PS : Van Mihmi durfde ik me wel een beetje verwijderen   


Willy

[☼ philsdutchie ☺]

Pasig river not dead—DENR


Philippine Daily Inquirer  08/14/2009

MANILA, Philippines —Believe it or not, the Pasig River is actually still alive.

A recent biodiversity study conducted by an agency under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) revealed that the river still supports several species of fish, birds, trees and aquatic plants.

In the 1990’s, the river was considered “biologically dead” because of high coliform content coming from communities living close to the banks of the river.

But the 110-page report entitled “Biodiversity Assessment of Pasig River and Its Tributaries: Ecosystems Approach (Phase One)” said Pasig River is not dead since “life still abounds in the river.”

The study was conducted by the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) from September 2008 to February 2009. It was funded by the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), also an agency under the DENR.

According to the report, some 118 species under 94 genera and 42 families of trees and other vegetation are living in the river and its banks.

Particularly, mango, banana and ipil-ipil were found thriving in the embankment upstream and downstream of the river. Of the species present, approximately 69 percent are exotic and 29 percent are indigenous.

This vegetation along the whole stretch of the Pasig River serves as shelter and feeding grounds to diverse species of birds, insects and mammals, the ERDB said.

A total of 39 species of birds belonging to 33 genus and 21 families were recorded by ERDB. Of the total number of species, 31 percent are migratory while only 15 percent are endemic.

“The whole stretch of Pasig River, particularly the vegetated areas such as the linear parks and forest gardens, is an important urban bird area, basically for roosting and feeding. The species recorded therefore, could be considered as urban-adaptable species,” the study said.

Aquatic plants present in Pasig River include water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes), hornworth (Ceratophyllum demersum), kangkong (Ipomoea aquatic) and quiapo (Pistia stratoites). Of these, only the water hyacinth is exotic while the others are indigenous to the Philippines.

As for the fish in the river, the study said there are eight fish species found living in the river. Seven of the fishes, the kanduli (Manila sea catfish), mamaling (bighead carp), buan-buan (Indo-Pacific tarpon), dalag (snakehead murrel), gurami (snakeskin gourami), talilong (bluespot mullet) and tilapia (Nile tilapia), are important food species. Of course, there is also the dreaded janitor fish or sailfin catfish (Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus).

“The study aims to generate baseline data on the status of flora and fauna diversity of the Pasig River and to assess the effect of the improvement of the river water quality on biodiversity,” said DENR Sec. Lito Atienza.

The ERDB team, headed by Dr. Carmelita Villamor employed multidisciplinary approaches in the study that include biophysical and socio-economic surveys, statistical analysis, and data gathering. The study was conducted in coordination with various stakeholders such as the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).

The first phase of the study focused on main Pasig River from the upstream portion at its inlet in Laguna de Bay and the downstream portion at its outlet to Manila Bay.

The second phase which will start early next month will focus on the four major and 43 minor tributaries of Pasig River.

[Freddy]

Pasig river rehab tops $1-B USAID projects

By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:57:00 01/16/2010


LOOKING into the trash-filled canals that wind through crowded communities and open markets and then empty their murky waters into the Pasig River, it is hard to imagine that the district of Sta. Ana was once a center of agriculture, trading and the arts.

Sta. Ana is one of the country’s richest archaeological sites, being “one of the most historic districts” along the Pasig River where Chinese merchants came in their junks bringing metals, silk and fine porcelain to trade with the residents.

The Sta. Ana Church, founded by the Franciscans in 1578, was the first mission to be built outside the Intramuros Walled City.

The once flourishing community, however, has fallen prey to decades of neglect, just like the historic river that runs beside it.

But starting this year, private groups are working to reverse what went wrong—one public market at a time.

Market makeover

The Sta. Ana public market will undergo a makeover this year under the USAID-Rotary Pasig River Improvement Project.

Launched last week, the project is aimed not just at reviving the Pasig River but also at alleviating poverty by boosting tourism in the historic district of Sta. Ana through a cleaner environment.

The sad story of the Pasig River is a “combination of years and years of not investing in the necessary infrastructure,” said acting USAID mission director Elzadia Washington.

Improving the Pasig River is just one of the five projects of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Rotary Club International that address this need to build proper infrastructure in the Philippines.

The projects in the Philippines of this international collaboration are worth $1.1 billion.

One of 3 world sites

Still struggling to recover from floods that devastated many communities late last year, the Philippines was selected as one of three sites in the world by the partnership because of its pressing and clear need for water sanitation, Washington said.

The two other countries are the Dominican Republic and Ghana where the five projects, focusing on water supply and sanitation, are estimated to benefit 9,500 people with piped water supply and 168,000 others with improved wastewater treatment services.

“If we can reduce the amount of solid waste, flooding because of clogged drainage systems will be minimized,” said Washington.

The Pasig River Improvement Project was launched last week on board one of the vessels of the Pasig River Ferry Service that took off from the Sta. Ana Ferry Station at the back of the public market.

The project will start with the putting up of a small wastewater treatment facility at the Sta. Ana public market, said Lisa Lumbao, head of the USAID Philippine Sanitation Alliance.

The market has a septic tank where wastewater from the stalls flow, but then the septic tank just empties the dirty water into the Pasig River.

There is a need for a treatment facility to clean the water before it is released into the river, said Lumbao. Construction will begin soon and will take about five months.

The public market has about 300 stall owners, according to Olympia Bitchara, 66, the president of the vendors’ association.

But keeping the environment clean also involves changing people’s attitudes and behavior, Lumbao said. Thus, the project will also institute solid waste management not only in the public market but also in six surrounding barangays as well as promote proper hygiene in the schools.

Reducing poverty

This will include providing clean toilets and sinks as well as teaching students the proper hand washing techniques. Schools will also be provided with drinking stations.

“To reduce poverty in Sta. Ana through tourism, (we) need to reduce the amount of garbage in the back of the market and open defecation and urination,” Lumbao said.

These will not only help save the Pasig River but will also help save people from illnesses, she said.

These initiatives will be replicated in Paco, Manila, and Baesa in Quezon City.

Four other projects are to be implemented in the country under the USAID-Rotary Club partnership—sewerage and wastewater management in San Fernando, La Union, and potable water and hygiene education in the cities of Zamboanga, Dipolog and Davao.

“The cost (of pollution) is extremely high, in terms of health care and of children kept out of schools,” said Washington.

“If we can improve water quality, we can improve health and the economy,” she added

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100116-247764/Pasig-river-rehab-tops-1-B-USAID-projects