manila times, September 10, 2006
POOR sewage treatment and sewerage—resulting in bad sanitation—in Metro Manila, if not in the country, is costing the economy at least P67 billion a year, according to government authorities. The inability to dispose, collect and treat human and industrial waste also sends thousands of Filipinos daily to hospitals, doctors’ offices and drugstores for diarrhea, dysentery and respiratory diseases. Poor sanitation has polluted rivers, lakes, bays and esteros, principally Manila Bay, the Pasig River and Laguna Lake. Countless rivers in Luzon are considered biologically dead because of industrial and human pollution. Swimmers, bathers and fishermen have complained of pain, discomfort and diseases after swimming or taking a dip in the Pasig River or in Manila Bay. Pollution has seeped into tap water and public faucets, restaurants, hotels, cocktail lounges and other public places.
As a result, not only hotels and restaurants but most households have shifted to buying bottled drinking water.
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