Banking on the belief that cleanliness and orderliness will serve as magnet for foreign investors and tourists, the Provincial Government of Bulacan is geared at implementing Republic Act 9003 to clean-up and rehabilitate the 55-kilometer Marilao, Meycauayan and Obando river system (MMORS), which has been a consistent in the list of the top 30 dirtiest rivers in the world.
The implementation of R.A. 9003, otherwise known as the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000,” was seen as the only legal solution to save the endangered river stretch from total extinction. The blackish river water in Bulacan was examined by the New York-based Blacksmith Institute and was found to be heavily poisoned with heavy metals coming from lead smelters, jewelry and gold refineries, tanneries, livestock raisers, electroplating plants, manufacturing sites, and textiles and garment factories situated along the riverbanks.
“The current state of our river calls for an emergency action, we have to act, not tomorrow, but today, otherwise nothing will remain of this endangered river that has been a victim of years of neglect, inaction and consistent abuse,” said Obando Mayor Orencio Gabriel.
The Municipality of Obando is set to serve as host to the development of an engineered sanitary landfill, seen as a crucial partner of the province in the clean-up and rehabilitation of the river. The proposed engineered sanitary landfill, to be developed and operated by Ecoshield Development Corporation, was also in direct response to the Writ of Kalikasan and Writ of Continuing Mandamus promulgated in 2010 by the Supreme Court aimed at rehabilitating the Manila Bay by cleaning-up the river veins connected to the bay.
