Address residents’ concerns on demolitions, Arroyo orders MMDA, DPWH
04/29/2009 | 07:08 PM
MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DWPH) to address the concerns of residents affected by the demolition of structures along major rivers and tributaries.
She told the MMDA to explain to disgruntled residents that the agency was only enforcing a Supreme Court decision to dismantle and remove all structures along Pasig River and nearby provincial waterways to clean up Manila Bay.
A report on the Office of the Press Secretary said the President issued the order after the presentation of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) on the waterways-related demolition and eviction during the joint National Economic Development Authority and the National Anti-Poverty Commission Cabinet meeting at Tacloban airport in Leyte on Tuesday.
In its December 2008 order, the Supreme Court told the MMDA to the clean the river systems in Metro Manila, including the Pasig-Marikina-San Juan Rivers, the Paranaque-Zapote, Las Pinas Rivers, the Navotas-Malabon-Tullahan-Tenejeros Rivers, and the connecting waterways and esteros.
It ordered the DPWH to remove and demolish all illegal structures, constructions, and other encroachments along the Meycauayan-Marilao-Obando rivers in Bulacan, the Talisay River in Bataan, the Imus River in Cavite, the Laguna De Bay, and other rivers, connecting waterways, and esteros that discharge wastewater into the Manila Bay;
It further enjoined the Department of Interior and Local Government to direct all local government units in Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan to inspect all factories, commercial establishments, and private homes along the banks of the major river systems in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
Also directed by the high court to help in the cleanup of Manila Bay were the Metro Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System, the Local Water Utilities Administration, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR), the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), the Philippine Coast Guard and the PNP Maritime Group. - Maria Katrina Elaine Alba, GMANews.TV
She told the MMDA to explain to disgruntled residents that the agency was only enforcing a Supreme Court decision to dismantle and remove all structures along Pasig River and nearby provincial waterways to clean up Manila Bay.
A report on the Office of the Press Secretary said the President issued the order after the presentation of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) on the waterways-related demolition and eviction during the joint National Economic Development Authority and the National Anti-Poverty Commission Cabinet meeting at Tacloban airport in Leyte on Tuesday.
In its December 2008 order, the Supreme Court told the MMDA to the clean the river systems in Metro Manila, including the Pasig-Marikina-San Juan Rivers, the Paranaque-Zapote, Las Pinas Rivers, the Navotas-Malabon-Tullahan-Tenejeros Rivers, and the connecting waterways and esteros.
It ordered the DPWH to remove and demolish all illegal structures, constructions, and other encroachments along the Meycauayan-Marilao-Obando rivers in Bulacan, the Talisay River in Bataan, the Imus River in Cavite, the Laguna De Bay, and other rivers, connecting waterways, and esteros that discharge wastewater into the Manila Bay;
It further enjoined the Department of Interior and Local Government to direct all local government units in Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan to inspect all factories, commercial establishments, and private homes along the banks of the major river systems in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
Also directed by the high court to help in the cleanup of Manila Bay were the Metro Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System, the Local Water Utilities Administration, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR), the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), the Philippine Coast Guard and the PNP Maritime Group. - Maria Katrina Elaine Alba, GMANews.TV
