Government agency orders companies to stop polluting Manila Bay to avoid being shut down

Companies are getting named and shamed as part of the government’s quest to clean up Manila Bay.

The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), a government agency tasked with protecting the bay, called out several companies on Wednesday for allegedly polluting Manila Bay by dumping their wastewater into it.

LLDA has already issued cease and desist orders against Billion Building, HK Sun Plaza, Tramway Bayview Buffet and D Circle Hotel, reported ABS-CBN News.

LLDA said it will also send notices of violation to Sogo Hotel-Quirino, the Government Service Insurance System, Peak Motors Philippines Inc, Makchang Korean Restaurant, 2Blue Realty Corp, Cebuana Lhuiller Building, Rizal Park Hotel, and Robinsons Place Manila.

According to Department of Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu, the above companies will be given the opportunity to correct their behavior first before charges are filed against them and they are shut down, reported the Philippine Star.   

The same source also reported that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will investigate if the local government is liable for issuing business permits to the allegedly polluting companies. Meanwhile, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año urged mayors to relocate informal settlers living along the Bay’s tributary river systems to some other areas.

During a massive cleanup on Sunday, authorities closed off the wastewater discharging facilities of dining places Aristocrat Restaurant, Gloria Maris Shark’s Fin and The Esplanade after they were allegedly discovered dumping untreated wastewater into the Bay.

The authorities’ decision was based on lab tests of the wastewater that were allegedly taken from the restaurants, reported The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The LLDA has discovered 120 other businesses in Pasay and Manila dumping dirty water directly into the bay. They will be fined PHP200,000 (US$3,825) daily after they receive a notice from the LLDA.

Manila Bay is a tourist attraction that has been destroyed by pollution in recent decades. Much of the garbage that flows into it comes from nearby provinces. To rehabilitate the body of water, the government launched a massive rehabilitation project called “Battle for Manila Bay.”