Pasig River Master Plan Completed

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The PRRC, in collaboration with UP PLANADES, designed the Pasig River Integrated and Strategic Master Plan (PRISM) with a vision that by 2032, the Pasig River and its surrounding basins are resilient life-sustaining ecosystems that are able to support diverse human needs and biodiversity towards inclusive, harmonized, and balanced development co-managed by competent and adaptive institutions with responsible and empowered communities. 

This new restoration strategy covers water quality management, stream flow management, catchment management and riparian management so that the Pasig River will again enshrine socioeconomic, aesthetic, environmental, recreational and cultural values amid changing risks and natural perturbations. 

The illustration below provides a brief summary of the integrated wastewater treatment systems, one of the 19 priority projects proposed in the PRISM to help improve the water quality of the Pasig River, and for concerned agencies to comply with concession agreement, and other environmental laws.

"After Manila, Pasig River Rehabilitation Goes to QC " - Gina Lopez

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ABS-CBN Foundation managing director Gina Lopez
at Estero de San Miguel

Following the significant changes on the surroundings and the lifestyle of residents along the esteros revived by the Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP), the campaign for the rehabilitation of Pasig River is set for an aggressive push to spur local government units in cleaning their own esteros.

ABS-CBN Foundation managing director Gina Lopez with
the River Warriors

This year, KBPIP is focused on the waterways in Quezon City which empties most of its trash to the San Juan River. San Juan River, meanwhile, contributes over 40% of the filth that flows into the Pasig River.

“If we clean San Juan River, we’ll clean half of Pasig River. If we have to clean San Juan River, we have to clean Quezon City,” said Gina Lopez, the managing director of ABS-CBN Foundation that operates KBPIP.

Estero de Paco (Quirino to Pedro Gil) -
Current taken 20 Sep 2012

KBPIP patterns much of its rehabilitation efforts after the rehabilitated and beautified Estero de Paco in Manila. It has since undergone a major makeover since the start of its rehabilitation in 2009 – what used to be an immense garbage patch occupied by informal settlers is now a park bordered by plants and illuminated by streetlights.

The rehabilitation process of the estuary began by relocating thousands of families living along the waterways, building linear parks, training of River Warriors or community volunteers who clean and guard the esteros against polluters, and installing active island reactors to bring life back into the estero waters.

Using Estero de Paco as a template, Lopez said she wants every estuary in the metro to be developed as a commercial hub where residents can earn a living and improve their lives. Lopez even takes pride in the construction of a supermarket and a three-story hotel near Estero de Paco that she said wouldn’t have been possible had the estero not been cleaned.

“The conjecture here is that when you clean the esteros, the economy will boom up,” said Lopez.

Estero de Paco (Trece de Agosto to Apacible) - Current taken 20 Sep 2012

Lopez also emphasized the benefits of the Estero de Paco clean-up on the lifestyle of residents in the area. For one thing, the estero’s vicinity didn’t suffer from flooding during the onslaught of rains brought by the monsoon winds last August because water could flow easily without trash jamming the stream.

Since the estero was cleaned, substantial changes have been noted in the area. Based on the barangay blotter, a 40% reduction in crime incidence was recorded in seven out of 16 barangays near the estero. According to the City of Manila, the value of land near Estero de Paco has also gone up and might benefit the land owner of up to P2 million in 20 years.

More notably, a survey sponsored by KBPIP with 7,000 households living within 200 meters from Estero de Paco revealed that 100% are getting more exercise, 97% have greater sense of community pride, 97% are satisfied with their lives, 89% feel less sick, and 89% feel safer in their community. Eighty five percent of them also claimed they have lower medical expenses due to their cleaner and healthier environment.

“Cleaning the esteros reaches far beyond the economic effect. It goes into the very way they feel about themselves, the way they feel about each other. This is the way to go. We clean the estero and we have a much happier and fulfilled life,” Lopez stressed.

The long-term crusade for cleaner waterways in Metro Manila will go full blast in the upcoming “09.30.2012 Run, Ride & Roll for the Pasig River” to be held at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on Sunday (Sept 30). Over 80,000 participants are expected to show up and take part in the advocacy event that will fund the rehabilitation of esteros in Quezon City.

“The Quezon City experience is really important because it sets the template for other cities. Unless local government units take on the cleaning of the esteros, it’s not going to happen,” said Lopez.

KBPIP has a track record of organizing three successful runs, namely the 2009 Philippine International Marathon: A Run for the Pasig River with an estimated 23,000 participants, the historic 10.10.10 Run for the Pasig River that broke the Guinness World Record for the “most participants in a racing event” with 116,087 runners, and last year’s 11.20.2011 Run for the Pasig River was the largest foot race joined by 86,547 runners.

The 10.10.10 Run for the Pasig River won a Bronze Anvil and an Award of Excellence at the 45th Anvil Awards given by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, while the Estero de Paco clean-up earned an Award of Merit from the 2010 Philippine Quill Awards given by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines.

Registration for the 09.30.2012 Run for the Pasig River is ongoing at SM North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, R.O.X, Chris Sports Festival Mall and Chris Sports Glorietta. Registration is until Saturday (Sept 29). Aside from the registration, there will also be merchandise available in the SM booths, in which part of the proceeds will also go to the river rehabilitation.

For updates on this advocacy run - 

visit www.runforthepasigriver.com 

like www.facebook.com/runforthepasigriver 

follow @run4pasigriver on Twitter

Photos by : Faizza Tangol, ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.

Run for the Pasig River 2012 Invades Quezon City

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Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, AFI Managing Director Gina Lopez (center) and Run for the Pasig River race directors and sponsors

This year, Quezon City will run for the Pasig River. Quezon Memorial Circle will serve as the start and finish line of the Pasig River Run on September 30, 2012.

At the press conference for “09.30.2012 Run for the Pasig River” this morning held at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista thanked ABS-CBN Foundation managing director Gina Lopez for choosing Quezon City as the venue of this year’s race. He said that they have been working on relocating some families living near these rivers.”We don’t want them there because it’s not safe. Around 15,000 have been relocated to Rizal,” Bautista said. 

ABS-CBN Foundation’s Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP) will be staging its fourth advocacy run to clamor for cleaner rivers and esteros in Metro Manila via “09.30.2012 Run for the Pasig River.”

Gina Lopez said  ”there’s no way we can clean the Pasig River unless we all work together.”

 Run for the Pasig River race directors and sponsors

Following the success of last year’s 11.20.2011 Run for the Pasig River, KBPIP is again urging groups and  individuals to join the eco foot-race, which will help raise awareness and funds for the rehabilitation of the waterways of Quezon City-San Juan-Mandaluyong Makati.

There will be three major event categories for the advocacy run: the 15K Ride & Roll with 4:00 a.m. gunstart; the 15K Commonwealth Challenge Run with 4:10 a.m. gunstart; and the 5K.

Morning Madness Run with 6:00 a.m. gunstart. This time, there will be one starting line in the Quezon City Memorial Circle (QCMC) going straight to Commonwealth Avenue then back again to QCMC for the finish.

ABS-CBN Foundation’s Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig has a track-record of organizing three successful runs for the Pasig River. The 2009 Philippine International Marathon: A Run for the Pasig River, which had an estimated 23,000 participants, helped fund the initial phase of rehabilitation of Estero de Paco, a 2.9-kilometer tributary of the Pasig River in Manila. The historic 10.10.10 Run for the Pasig River, meanwhile, broke the Guinness World Record for the “most participants in a racing event” with 116,087 runners. It helped rehabilitate the second phase of the Estero de Paco clean-up.

Estero de Paco (Paco Market to Trece de Agosto section) - Before 2010

Estero de Paco (Paco Market to Trece de Agosto section) - Current 2011

Estero de Paco (Trece de Agosto to Apacible section) - Before 2010

Estero de Paco (Trece de Agosto to Apacible section) - Current 2011

Last year’s 11.20.2011 Run for the Pasig River was the largest foot race joined by 86,547 runners, are currently being used to rehabilitate Estero de San Miguel and four other esteros behind the Malacañang Palace.

Estero de San Miguel (Mendiola) - Current (taken on June 8 2012 by Faizza Tanggol)

Estero de San Miguel (Nepomuceno Bridge) - Before (taken on 19 July 2011 by Faizza Tanggol)

Estero de San Miguel (Mendiola) - Before (taken on July 14 2010)

Estero de San Miguel (Nepomuceno Bridge) - Current (taken on July 10 2012 by Faizza Tanggol)

KBPIP’s seven-year rehabilitation program involves cleaning up all the esteros that drain into the Pasig River in order to thoroughly clean it. To date, the project has resettled 1,216 families to Calauan, Laguna, introduced remediation technologies for water quality improvement, trained community volunteers for the River Warriors program and shared sound waste management practices with communities.

The 10.10.10 Run for the Pasig River won a Bronze Anvil and an Award of Excellence at the 45^th Anvil Awards given by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, while the Estero de Paco clean-up earned an Award of Merit from the 2010 Philippine Quill Awards given by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines.

Registration for the 09.30.2012 Run for the Pasig River will open on July 16, 2012 in SM North EDSA, 2nd Floor Cinema C Lobby (near IMAX Theatre) and on July 20 in SM Mall of Asia, Lower Ground Level, Building A (near The Event Center and Food Court) and SM Megamall, Ground Floor Main Mall (near Music Hall and SM Bowling Center). Aside from the registration, there will also be merchandise available in the booths, in which part of the proceeds will also go to river rehab. For updates on this advocacy run, visit http://www.runforthepasigriver.com/.