SC justices join inspection of Manila Bay clean-up

Chief Justice Renato Corona and four other Supreme Court justices joined the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Coast Guard in inspecting the clean-up of Manila Bay on Friday morning. The SC in December 2008 ordered various government agencies to rehabilitate Manila Bay. Corona, Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Jose Perez, and Presbitero Velasco Jr. were on board the Coast Guard Vessel BRP EDSA II. The justices were with DENR Secretary Ramon Paje. The vessel will also pass through Pasig River and the Manila Bay area, off Navotas City and the Mall of Asia in Pasay City. "This is the first time justices joined this kind of inspection. We're going to schedule another inspection, this time of the Pasig River, a major tributary flowing into the Manila Bay," said SC spokesman and administrator Jose Midas Marquez. In December 2008, the SC upheld two lower court rulings and ordered government agencies to clean up Manila Bay and make it suitable for public bathing and swimming. In February this year, the high court issued a resolution giving government agencies their deadline in enforcing the December 2008 order. The DENR was specifically tasked to submit until June 30 this year its updated operation plan for the Manila Bay clean-up. On Friday, Marquez said that the success of the Manila Bay clean-up will rely heavily on the DENR's operation plan. "The comprehensive plan will come from the DENR and will be implemented by different government agencies," said Marquez. The other government agencies tasked to participate in the rehabilitation include the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. Also included are local governments in Metro Manila and in Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, and Pampanga provinces. For his part, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Lieutenant Commandant Armand Balilo said that the PCG was tasked to monitor the coastal clean-up and the monitoring of illegal firshermen and dynamite fishing in Manila Bay. "The Coast Guard also tapped auxillary volunteers to help us in our contribution to the clean-up and our compliance to the Supreme Court order," Balilo told reporters. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMA News