Need for coastal clean-up
BY A.C. ALCALA

Anybody traveling by car on the coastal road from Manila to Las Piñas cannot avoid smelling the foul odor coming from the coastal waters, especially in the evenings and early mornings when the air is relatively heavy and does not ascend rapidly. There is no doubt that this odor is due to the untreated domestic wastewater produced in the four cities of Manila, Pasay, Parañaque and Las Piñas that is released to Manila Bay.

The undesirable air quality along this coastline is so obvious to us Filipinos, but we tend to tolerate it, maybe because our sense of smell has been dulled through the physiological process referred to as “accommodation.”

Accommodation occurs when our sense of smell becomes insensitive to foul odors after a long exposure to them. An illustration of the phenomenon of accommodation is the common observation that a group of people who fail to bathe for a number of days will not be able to “smell” themselves, but a person other than the group will easily notice the difference.     

I am not sure that a newcomer to Manila riding in a taxicab from the airport will respond in the same way we Filipinos do. I can imagine a first-timer in Manila smelling the foul odor of Manila Bay. He will most likely conclude that Filipinos tolerate messy things like not taking care of their wastewaters! If I were that newcomer, I will react exactly in that way.

Of course, it is not only in Metro Manila where untreated domestic wastewaters are released to the sea. It is done all over the country. The effect of this action is so pronounced in Metro Manila, because of the large volume of wastewaters.

The way we handle domestic wastewaters is indicative of the low priority our country gives to our environment. For example, how many coastal towns and cities in the country treat their wastewaters before releasing them to the sea? Yet, the majority of our people depend directly or indirectly on our environment.

Already our biological resources show so much depletion that some of them may no longer recover their original productivity. I am referring to those in coastal areas that produce large amounts of harvestable products used as food.

In Manila Bay, which is polluted by all sorts of trash and garbage as well as wastewaters, I often see people fishing in the shallow, polluted areas. It is possible they are catching marine species that feed on bottom sediments. Such sediment feeders surely ingest bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that could be health hazards because they cause diseases. I wonder whether these people know that in effect they are ingesting the pollutants they themselves throw into Manila Bay? Or, if they do not know this, who are going to tell them about the dangers of their actions?

Every September of each year, our coastal communities conduct coastal clean-ups. This is good. But what do they do? They gather trash and garbage. They forget that clean-ups involve more than gathering visible waste materials. They should go further and focus on the less obvious pollutants such as harmful chemicals and organic wastes from toilets and washrooms.

In the final analysis, local government units hold the key to the prevention of water pollution. Incidentally, what has been accomplished by the local government units around Manila Bay in response to the call of the Supreme Court to clean up Manila Bay? If these local governments have not done their work, what are the sanctions?*