GMA order on bay cleanup 9 years too late -- Loren

Senator Loren Legarda said today that President Arroyo's order for the cleanup of Manila de Bay came nine years too late as she should have prioritized its rehabilitation on day one of her administration.

"Only last month, all sorts of garbage that had been accumulating at the bay had been washed ashore at the height of heavy rains. It was a horrific sight which should have jolted the administration into action," said Loren.

"It is sad that the President issued a directive for government agencies to comply with a Supreme Court order for the bay to be cleaned up only after a well-meaning citizen asked the SC to cite in contempt the said agencies," she added.

Loren said that the trash that float and the stench that emanate from Manila Bay had been there since the Arroyo administration came into power.

"Government officials must once in a while roll down the windows of their vehicles when passing along Roxas Boulevard and the Coastal Road to see and smell for themselves how polluted Manila Bay had become."

Loren stressed that the deplorable state of the bay could not have possibly escaped the attention of President Arroyo when she made a well-publicized stroll along Baywalk, along with her family, on July of 2005.

"The low priority given by the administration on cleaning up our bodies of water is apparent not only with Manila de Bay but also with the Pasig River," she said.

"The historic Pasig River remains polluted and it's a shame because on one of its banks lies Malacanang no less."