Gulf News

Philippines: Fish turn up dead due to polluted water

Published: October 13, 2019 16:09
Gilbert P. Felongco, Correspondent

Manila: Polluted water has been blamed for the massive fish kill that lined the shores of
the cities of Las Pinas and Paranaque in Southern Metro Manila in recent days.
According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), tests conducted
on water samples collected from the two cities showed low amounts of dissolved
oxygen and other imbalances.
“The water quality test conducted in three sampling areas by BFAR’s National Fisheries
Laboratory Division and BFAR 4A [Region 4A or the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal,
Quezon corridor] shows poor levels of dissolved oxygen and higher levels of ammonia
and phosphates than the standard level,” BFAR said in a statement.
On October 9, residents were surprised to find thousands of dead fish washed up on the
shores of Las Pinas’ Long Island, and Paranaque’s Freedom Island, which are marine
protected areas.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar ordered BFAR on the following day to assess the
water quality in the area. Authorities were also able to collect about two tonnes of dead
fish from the shores of the two cities.
Reports said that among the fish species found washed up on the shores were asuhos
(silago), kanduli (marine catfish), butete (blowfish), sapsap (ponyfish), tilapia and
barracuda.
Based on assessments, there was an apparent depletion of dissolved oxygen in the
collected water samples.
BFAR said that to be considered “normal,” dissolved oxygen should be greater than five
parts per million (ppm), but tests showed it was only 0.70 to 2 ppm.
The water samples also have high levels of ammonia at 3.59 ppm when the norm is
less than .05 ppm.
Ammonia is a naturally occurring chemical given off by decomposing organic matter
such as plants, animals and animal waste, however, in the case of the collected water
samples, there are indications that these compounds could have come from agricultural,
domestic or industrial wastes.
Another element found in the tests is phosphates, which could come from raw domestic
sewage, agricultural runoff, or urban wastes.
Experts said it was likely that pollution, chemical, organic or otherwise that could be
responsible for the fish kill.
While Las Pinas and Paranaque are among the most urbanised areas of Metro Manila,
a considerable number of residents, particularly those living in coastal areas, rely on
fishing for their livelihood.
The coastal waters of the two cities are also part of the Manila Bay.
It can be recalled that last year, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the rehabilitation of
the Manila Bay due to years of pollution and neglect.

https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/philippines/philippines-fish-turn-up-dead-due-to-
polluted-water-1.67106023

INQUIRER.NET
Hog farms blamed for dirty rivers
Calabarzon livestock growers ask for leniency, saying closure will hurt meat industry
By: Maricar Cinco - Reporter / @maricarcincoINQPhilippine Daily Inquirer / 05:05 AM
March 07, 2019

SAN PEDRO CITY — Animal farms operating in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna,

Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) have been identified by the environment department as a
major contributor to the pollution of the region’s major waterways that drain into Laguna
de Bay and Manila Bay.
The role of the livestock industry, particularly backyard hog raisers, in water pollution
was again raised following a regionwide river cleanup led by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last week.
The DENR traced fecal coliform in the rivers, with the highest concentration found in the
18-kilometer Boso-Boso River that passes through Antipolo City and the towns of
Rodriguez and San Mateo, all in Rizal province.
Livelihood

Water sampling in Boso-Boso showed that coliform level was highest midstream, near
Antipolo City, at 270 million most probable number per 100 milliliters.
Following the March 1 River cleanup, Maria Paz Luna, DENR regional director, said the
agency had identified at least four livestock farms, each “with 70,000 to 100,000 head,”
in Rizal for inspection.
In January, the DENR in Calabarzon had issued notices of violation of the Clean Water
Act (Republic Act No. 9275) to 210 livestock farms in Batangas province. These farms
either allowed animal waste to flow directly into the water or lacked waste treatment
facilities.
A group of livestock farmers, however, has asked the national government for some
leniency in shutting down animal farms that failed to comply with proper waste disposal.
“We don’t deny that, somehow, livestock production contributes to pollution … but we
have to understand that this is a livelihood,” Rep. Rico Geron, who represents the party-
list Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (Agap), said in a telephone interview
on Wednesday.
Geron said that given the dipping market price of local meat, as a result of the
importation of agricultural products, hog raisers were forced to “prioritize making ends
meet over waste management.”

Convenient

“We support [environmental initiatives], but all we ask is to give [hog raisers] time to
improve [their facilities] and comply [with the policies],” said former Agap Rep. Nicanor
Briones, in a separate interview.
According to Agap, the P200-billion hog industry supplies 90 to 95 percent of meat for
the local market. About 70 percent of livestock farms are also backyard piggeries, each
with just five to 100 animals.
Geron said it had been a practice for backyard raisers to put up farms along creeks and
rivers as a “convenient” means to dispose animal waste.
“The level of awareness (on waste management) is not that high. To make
(environmental rehabilitation sustainable), it has to be a multisectoral approach. Don’t
rush things and provide some assistance (to hog raisers),” Geron added.
Aside from Boso-Boso, volunteers cleaned up parts of Zapote River in Cavite province,
San Cristobal River in Laguna province, San Juan River in Batangas province, and
Iyam-Dumacaa River in Quezon province.
More than 700 sacks of trash were collected, including used diapers, plastic food cups,
cigarette butts and even dead animals.
The five river systems drain into the Laguna Lake and eventually into Manila Bay,
whose rehabilitation by the government kicked off in January.
The regional Environmental Management Bureau said sanitary landfills in Calabarzon
could not accommodate the large volumes of waste.
Ann Hazel Javier, spokesperson for the DENR Calabarzon, said 36 sanitary landfills
were operating in the region but only 13 followed DENR standards.
Javier said these landfills had failed in collecting all of the region’s solid waste. “We
continue to monitor (these landfills) as we are to issue notices of violation to
noncompliant [facilities],” she said.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1092938/hog-farms-blamed-for-dirty-rivers

UN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME

Battling pollution in the Philippines’ largest lake

Nov. 8, 2017

Serious pollution in a lake next to the mega-city of Manila is forcing a rethink by

development planners to protect water quality and fish stocks.
Laguna de Bay is the Philippines’ largest lake, and supplies Metro Manila’s 16 million
people with a third of their fish. It also supports agriculture, industry and hydro-power
generation, and is a welcome getaway for rest and recreation for many Filipinos.
Millions more live around its 285-kilometre shoreline.
But the lake’s importance has placed it in peril from a host of problems, including
pollution from untreated sewage and industrial waste, over-fishing and the
sedimentation and illegal reclamation that are eroding its capacity. A recent assessment
from the Laguna Lake Development Authority gave the lake an overall ranking of “C-”
for water quality and “F” for fisheries (on a scale of A-F, with F being the worst).
Environmental threats have sparked repeated attempts to clean up the lake and ease
the pressure on its over-stretched ecosystem so that it continues to deliver its benefits
to a growing human population.

Nutrient loading

Nutrient pollution is a major concern. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus can
result in the eutrophication, or over-enrichment of a water body, triggering dense plant
growth and the death of animal life from lack of oxygen. There have been numerous
reports of fish die-offs in Laguna de Bay.
Key sources of nutrients include run-off from farmland treated with fertilizers as well as
detergents and untreated sewage in domestic wastewater.
UN Environment has been studying concentrations of nitrogen in the lake as well as
nutrients entering Manila Bay to the west of the city as part of the Global Nutrient Cycle
Project. The project, funded by the Global Environment Facility, is developing policies
and practices to reduce the impact of nutrients on ecosystems.
Project leaders and local partners presented policy recommendations to the governors
of the provinces around the lake and Manila Bay in March 2017. The recommendations
included greater investment in improved land management practices, a phosphate
detergent ban, and caps on the total amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that can be
released from discharge points.
“The remarkable aspect about the work being done to address pollution in the lake is
that it is powered by citizen action that has been supported at the highest decision-
making levels through a ruling by the Supreme Court of the Philippines in 2008 that
mandated the clean-up of Manila Bay and coastal areas, including Laguna de Bay,”
says UN Environment ecosystems expert Christopher Cox.
“UN Environment has been contributing to these efforts to beat pollution through the
Global Nutrient Cycle Project.”
Protecting ecosystem health is aligned with UN Environment’s strategy on freshwater
and its global fight against marine pollution. The organization’s efforts on both fronts will
help countries to meet targets under the Sustainable Development Goals on freshwater
and oceans.
Satellite image from May 2016 showing Manila Bay on left and the much shallower and
hence lighter coloured Laguna de Bay on the right with black plumes of pollution at the
mouth of the Taguig and Passig rivers, and elsewhere. ©: European Space Agency
Sewage and sediment

Many of the millions of people living on the lake shores are informal settlers whose
homes lack proper sanitation facilities. At least half a million of them are estimated to be
discharging raw sewage into the lake. The government is considering building medium-
rise houses for them around the lake, using environmentally friendly technologies such
as compost toilets, biochar (charcoal used as a soil enhancer), and wetlands to control
sewage.
To halt rapid sedimentation, authorities have drawn up plans to build small dams on
tributaries to filter out debris and reduce the amount of soil entering the lake.
Reforestation along parts of the shore has also been considered.
The Laguna Lake Development Authority is the principal body working towards the
sound ecological governance and sustainable development of the lake. The Authority
drew up a 10-year master plan in 2016. Education is an important part of its work.
The Authority has a partnership with the Society for the Conservation of Philippine
Wetlands and Unilever Philippines called CLEAR (Conservation of Laguna de Bay’s
Environment and Resources). The partnership has conducted 16 ecological camps
benefiting students from 100 high schools and 13 lakeside municipalities, where
children learn to value Laguna de Bay.

Curbing big fish pens

Government agencies have decided that for fishing to be more sustainable, some of the
vast fish pens in the lake should be dismantled. In July, the authority reportedly halved
the maximum pen size to 25 hectares in a drive to cut their total area by one-third from
the current 13,000-14,000 hectares.
Over the past few months hundreds of large fish pens have been removed amid an
ongoing debate about the local fishing industry, a key source of income for many
people. In January, the government declared a one-year moratorium on the issuance of
permits for fish pens in the lake.
Pollution is the theme of the 2017 United Nations Environment Assembly, which is
meeting in Nairobi from 4 to 6 December. Sign the pledge and help us #BeatPollution
around the world.

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/battling-pollution-philippines-largest-lake
The Manila Times

Pasig River world's top plastic polluter

By Eireene Jairee Gomez
June 10, 2021

The Pasig River as well as 18 other rivers in the Philippines were identified as among
the top 50 polluting rivers in the world, a study released by the Rotterdam-based Ocean
Cleanup said.
Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit engineering environmental organization based in the
Netherlands that develops technology to extract plastic pollution from the oceans and
intercept it in rivers before it can reach the ocean. It also conducts scientific research
into oceanic plastic pollution.
The study found that a quarter of the rivers that were found to be responsible for 80
percent of ocean plastic pollution are found in the Philippines.
The researchers used a tool that could track plastics flowing into the ocean.
The study found the Philippines as the biggest contributor to plastic pollution. Of the
1,656 rivers monitored worldwide, 466 were in the Philippines. Together, the rivers
dumped more than 356,371 metric tons of plastic waste annually.
The 27-kilometer Pasig River, which runs through Metro Manila, accounts for 63,000
tons of plastic entering oceans from rivers per year.
The study also said that coastal countries like the Philippines have a relatively high
probability of plastic entering the ocean due to various factors, including short distances
from land-based sources to rivers and much shorter distances to oceans.
Plastic also flows more easily into rivers from paved urban areas than it does in rivers
from forests and travels farther in rainy climates than dry ones.
The researchers also considered the proximity of landfills and dumpsites to riverbanks,
finding out that those within 10 kilometers of rivers are likely to spill into them.
Aside from Pasig River, making the infamous list were the Tullahan River, Meycauayan
River, Pampanga River, Libmanan River, Rio Grande de Mindanao River, Agno River,
Agusan River, Paranaque River, Iloilo River, Imus River, Zapote River, Cagayan de Oro
River, Davao River, Malaking Tubig River, Tambo, Pasay (storm drain), Jalaur River,
Cagayan River and Hamulauon River.
Reacting to the study's findings, the Climate Change Commission (CCC) said the study
findings raise "extreme" concern on the issue of mismanaged plastic wastes in the
country.
The CCC noted that the study supports its call for urgent efforts to solve the plastic
crisis by implementing measures to regulate and in turn, halt the production of
unnecessary plastics-made straws and stirrers, spoon and fork, and plastic labo, among
others.
The CCC mentioned House Bill 9147 or the "Single-Use Plastics Products Regulation
Act," recently approved on second reading in the House of Representatives, which
serves as a potential measure that will effectively address the country's high rate of
plastic waste leakage and plastics' impacts on the environment, public health and
climate change through a nationwide phaseout of single-use plastics and
implementation of producers' responsibility schemes.
For the CCC, the HB 9147 ushers in the start for producers to shift their dependence on
throwaway packaging models to more sustainable reuse and refill systems.
"The agency strongly urges the public to use alternatives and adopt workable
community-based solutions to shift away from the single-use, throwaway culture that
currently dominates our market," the CCC said.
The Ocean Cleanup study was released as San Miguel Corp. (SMC), in partnership with
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), other national
government agencies, and Metro Manila mayors, launched its ambitious, five-year plan
to clean up and rehabilitate the Pasig River.
The project is set to become the largest river rehabilitation project in the country, with
SMC President Ramon Ang announcing that the company's budget for the undertaking
is being doubled to P2 billion.
"There have been many cleanup efforts in the past, and government has successfully
implemented a number of programs these past few years," Ang said. "But decades of
pollution and compounding problems that have rendered the river biologically dead
since the 1990s are too significant and complex to overcome - even for the best-
intentioned advocates and organizations."
"We hope that with the resources and technical know-how that we are bringing into the
effort today - along with the continued support of our national government agencies and
local government units - we can all make a bigger difference," he added.
Present at the simple launching ceremony were Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu,
Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Benhur Abalos, Manila Mayor Francisco
"Isko Moreno" Domagoso, Mandaluyong City Mayor Menchie Abalos, Interior and Local
Government Undersecretary Epimaco Densing 3rd, Public Works Assistant Secretary
Antonio Mulano, and Coast Guard station commander for Pasig Crisanto Anas.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/06/10/news/national/pasig-river-worlds-top-plastic-
polluter/1802635

INQUIRER.NET

Pollution costs P4.5 trillion, 66,000 lives every year

By: Krixia Subingsubing - Reporter / @KrixiasINQPhilippine Daily Inquirer / 05:48 AM
November 12, 202

MANILA, Philippines — In a year, air pollution is costing the Philippines P4.5 trillion and
causing tens of thousands of deaths, according to a new report assessing air quality
since the implementation of the Clean Air Act 20 years ago.
The report, “Aiming Higher: Benchmarking the Philippine Clean Air Act,” was launched
on Wednesday by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) and the
Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities. It shows the degree of Filipinos’ exposure to
air pollution and provides recommendations to improve the implementation of Republic
Act No. 8749.
Among others, it examines the major sources of pollution in the country as well as
domestic air quality policies to determine the health and economic impacts of air
pollution.

Direct Link
While the levels of two major pollutants—fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen
dioxide (NO2)—have been falling since 2013, these are still consistently above the
World Health Organization’s (WHO) “safe levels” of ambient air pollution.
The report finds that about 66,000 premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases
and lower respiratory infections each year are directly linked to pollution.
This is because the current air quality is equivalent to smoking at least one cigarette a
day, said Crea analyst Isabella Suarez.
The detrimental health effects snowball into economic costs that affect the health care
and labor systems, she said.
“Air quality is not an abstract issue,” Suarez said. “Neglecting air pollution comes with a
heavy bill in the form of increased health-care and welfare costs as well as loss of labor
and economic productivity.”
Of the P4.5-trillion annual cost of ambient air pollution, 98 percent (P4.43 trillion) is lost
on premature deaths that result in lost livelihoods and economic productivity.
As much as P53 billion is lost on years lived with disabilities that lower quality of life and
economic productivity, and P24.7 billion is lost to work absences of sickened
employees.

Saving lives
“Improved air quality would save millions of lives and trillions of pesos,” the report says.
“If annual PM2.5 and NO2 ambient concentrations were improved to meet the 2005
WHO guidelines, the economic cost of ambient air pollution would decrease by 30
percent.”
The report recommends that the government implement the Clean Air Act faster.
It notes that while sources of mobile, stationery and area emissions have increased
since the year 2000, emission-control policies have not kept up.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management
Bureau (EMB) said it was working on initiatives, including a nationwide project to gather
real-time data from industrial sources.
Seventy firms now have continuous emissions monitoring systems, of which a third are
now connected to the EMB Air Quality Network Operation Center.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1513761/pollution-costs-p4-5-trillion-66000-lives-every-year

Philippines News Agency

Air pollution adds over 6.67M deaths to toll in 2019

October 21, 2020, 8:30 pm

ANKARA – Air pollution, the fourth leading risk factor for early death, added 6.67 million
deaths to the global toll last year, according to a new study published on Wednesday.
"Air pollution is the leading environmental risk factor for early death, with its total impact
exceeding only by high blood pressure (10.8 million), tobacco use (8.71 million), and
dietary risks (7.94 million)," the State of Global Air 2020 report highlighted.
On newborn deaths, the report stated that lack of air quality also led to almost 500,000
deaths worldwide last year among babies in their first month of life.
"[Due to unprecedented Covid-19 restrictions], satellite and ground-based air quality
monitoring data have shown substantial reductions in concentrations of pollutants such
as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and, in some cases, modest reductions for other pollutants
such as PM2.5," the report mentioned.
However, it added these positive changes towards clean air were only temporary as,
with restrictions lifted, emissions have risen quickly, erasing any gain in air quality.
Across the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has claimed more than 1.12 million lives in
189 countries and regions since last December.
Over 40.83 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries nearing 28
million, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.
The report noted that the three countries with the highest population-weighted exposure
worldwide are India, Nepal, and Niger, while the three countries with the lowest
exposure are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, and Canada in 2019 as part of PM2.5,
airborne particulates 2.5 microns or less in diameter.
"The impact [of air pollution] on the numbers of people affected is clearly dominated by
countries in South and East Asia, most notably in India and China," it said, adding that
since 2010, the use of solid fuels has fallen slowly and steadily in most regions, in
particular in South Asia and Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania Super Regions.
(Anadolu)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1119335

Philippine News Agency

Manila warns residents smog may worsen underlying conditions

By Marita Moaje
June 29, 2021, 8:19 pm
MANILA – The prevailing thick smog observed in Manila on Tuesday is risky, especially
to the elderly, children, and those with underlying conditions.
The Manila Department of Public Service (DPS) said based on their air quality
monitoring, the smog was primarily caused by pollution from mobile vehicles and other
industrial sources.
The DPS also refuted the rumor that the haze was caused by the unstable condition of
Taal Volcano.
DPS Director Kenneth Amurao said an increasing concentration of Particulate Matter
(PM) 2.5 has been recorded in the city since June 25.
DPS air quality monitoring report from 10 a.m. on Monday until 9 a.m. Tuesday showed
that the Air Quality Index City was observed to be unhealthy for sensitive groups,
Amurao said.
PM2.5 is described as “fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5
micrometers and smaller”, according to experts.
"Low wind speeds have been observed in the city since Sunday, which also contributes
to lower dispersion of particulates in the atmosphere," the DPS report read.
The DPS warned that people with lung and heart disease, older adults, and children are
at greater risk from air pollution exposure.
Amurao advised wearing surgical masks, like N95 or KF94, or any tight-fitting masks
when going outdoors.
Manila has five air quality sensors installed at the Freedom Triangle roadside beside the
City Hall, Mehan Garden, Rizal Park, Barangay 128 roadside in Tondo, and Aurora
Boulevard intersection in Sta. Cruz. (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145394

Manila Bulletin

PH losing $87 B annually due to poor air quality

Published November 10, 2021, 3:03 PM
by Madelaine B. Miraflor
The Philippines’ negligence of air quality is causing more deaths and losses of about
$87.6 billion annually, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air
(CREA) and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC).
“Air quality is not an abstract issue. Air pollution costs the Philippines P4.5 trillion every
year, which in 2019 represented 23 percent of our GDP [gross domestic product],”
Isabella Suarez, an analyst at CREA, said.
“Neglecting air pollution comes with a heavy bill in the form of increased healthcare and
welfare costs, as well as loss of labor and economic productivity.” she further explained.
In the most detailed analysis for the Philippines to date, the joint report of CREA and
ICSC found that air pollution in the country is responsible for 66,000 premature deaths
every year.
“If this does not spell out how urgent the situation is, it’s hard to imagine what else can
spur the government to truly implement the country’s Clean Air Act. Our findings show
the degree to which Filipino’s long-term exposure to air pollution increases the risk of
developing illnesses such as asthma, lung cancer and stroke, as well as comorbidities
to COVID-19,” said Vince Carlo Garcia, a research analyst with the ICSC.
In September, the World Health Organization (WHO) revised its recommended “safe
levels” of air pollution based on growing scientific evidence that air pollution is more
dangerous to human health than previously estimated.
According to the report, if the WHO guidelines were met, the country’s annual air
pollution-related deaths could be reduced by more than half while economic costs would
reduce to a third.
Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda, principal author of the Clean Air Act, expressed
frustration over the executive’s inaction.
Legarda said “Millions of premature deaths around the world have been attributed to
poor air quality and millions more are exposed to higher levels of pollution from a
growing number of pollution sources. Some of the pollutants also contribute to climate
change.”
The solon said it was unacceptable that the country is missing “by more than 200
percent what is deemed to be safe” according to the WHO’s new guidelines.
“The adverse impacts of climate change and poor air quality do not recognize political
colors. It is incumbent upon us to come together and take leadership in the effort to
promote the health of the environment and of our people,” she further said.
To speed up implementation of the law, Legarda urged the passage of a “Joint
Resolution of Congress” to constitute the Congressional Oversight Committee on the
Clean Air Act.”
For his part, Jundy del Soccorro of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources’s (DENR) Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) said the first step to
finding a solution is acknowledging the problem, which is why we need all the data and
expertise from academe and government agencies.
The EMB official cited initiatives the agency is pursuing in line with the Clean Air Act,
including a project to gather data from industrial sources in real-time.
Del Soccorro said a total of 70 firms in the Philippines already have existing continuous
emissions monitoring systems, 35 percent of which are now connected to their Air
Quality Network Operation Center. The project aims to reach 100 percent completion by
2022.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/11/10/ph-losing-87-b-annually-due-to-poor-air-quality/