Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 1) — The Supreme Court (SC) has directed 12 government agencies to submit a report by the end of the month on their efforts to rehabilitate Manila Bay and the environmental implications of reclamation projects in the area.
In a press release posted on Wednesday, the SC said the agencies should detail the benchmark of how they measure pollution in Manila Bay, and the government’s strategies to comply with their mandate to restore and preserve it.
The high court asked the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority; Departments of Environment and Natural Resources, Education, Health, Agriculture, Public Works and Highways, Budget and Management, Interior and Local Government; the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police Maritime Group, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System to also list down their goals for the next five years.
Aside from the reports, the SC said it will conduct oral arguments on the Manila Bay pollution case but did not specify the date.
The high court in 2008 ordered the concerned government agencies to clean up, rehabilitate, and preserve Manila Bay. In 2011, it ordered the party government agencies to execute directives in order to implement the 2008 decision.
