Time flies fast over Bued and Balili

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March Fianza

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- First was the Boracay cleanup. Then citizens of local government units such as Baguio, Cebu, Bohol and other environment-concerned residents also wanted their communities and water bodies cleaned. Last week, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources started cleaning up Manila Bay.

I thought the call for a Bued River cleanup yesterday was a follow-through by the DENR after the environment agency cleaned up the over-polluted Manila Bay. But a chat with Engr. Oliver Bilango showed otherwise.

The rehabilitation of the historic Manila Bay by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu who led a contingent of around 5,000 public and private sector representatives is a bold and unprecedented attempt to rehabilitate and save the water body from further environmental degradation.

The retired army general’s unusual battle for the environment this time aims to reduce the coliform level in Manila Bay to a level safe enough for swimming and contact recreation.

In the meantime, the DENR massive cleanup drive of Bued River and its tributaries is in celebration of the World Wetlands Day which started with a short program and briefing for participants at the DENR Regional Office at Pacdal, Baguio City.

World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in February 1997 to raise public awareness of wetland values and promote the conservation and wise use of water bodies. Activities include seminars, nature walks and festivals.

For Bued, Balili, Asin-Nangalisan, Amburayan and other rivers in the Cordillera with similar situation; the problems include free-flowing seepages from residential, poultry and piggery, and industrial facilities.

Engr. Bilango informed me that for next week, they have scheduled to meet and coordinate with LGU officials and stakeholders of the Amburayan River to make similar attempts to protect it from degradation.

I recall that four year ago the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) allocated at least P20 million to preserve the Amburayan River that winds through Atok, Tublay, Kapangan and Kibungan in Benguet.

The river traces its watersheds in Bakun, Buguias and Atok; with headwaters from a confluence of small creeks in Kibungan and Kapangan, then exits through the Tagudin-Bangar border where its river mouth is.

Water in upstream Amburayan is still ideal for primary contact recreation such as swimming while the water downstream is suitable for fisheries projects and industrial water supply.

Compared to Amburayan, the Balili River in La Trinidad, Benguet is practically the toilet bowl of Baguio. In most press conferences that discuss about rivers, the Balili River is always cited as one of the most polluted river systems that needs to be addressed.

Its tributary river – the Sagudin River from Mines View in Baguio winds through the Gibraltar-Pacdal area down to Brookside and Lucban Valley, flows through La Trinidad and Sablan River before it reaches the coastal waters of La Union through Naguillian River.

They say a river is capable of cleansing itself as it flows but fecal coliforms or E. Coli do not go away. The presence of coliforms in the water means possible contamination and the existence of waterborne disease.

The Balili River in La Trinidad has coliforms assessed in hundreds of billions – far from the allowable level of coliforms in a river system, the Environmental Management Bureau of the DENR reported.

But just by standing on the river banks of Balili without the on-site water assessment, one can see with his or her bare eyes the pollution and contamination of the waters by the presence of floating debris consisting of plastics, cloth, rubber, metal, and “yellow submarines”.

There was a time when La Trinidad or Balili River was called the “toilet bowl of Baguio”. This was because aside from the yellow submarines, the water is dark or black in color all year round.

These pollutants and contaminants do not come from La Trinidad and flow upstream. They come from residential houses, auto-mechanic shops and other structures by the Sagudin River in Baguio.

Owners of these structures discharge their sewer and waste directly to the river system. In addition, waste from the Baguio public market mixes with the waste from the Slaughter House area then flows to the Balili River.

Of course, nobody in the city council is stupid enough to propose an ordinance that will penalize those who discharge their waste to river systems, especially in an election year.

Aside from Balili, the other river systems that flow from Baguio are the Bued River from Camp 8 and Camp 7 that flows beside Kennon Road, and Asin-Nangalisan River that runs from City Camp down to Crystal Cave then below Km. 5 Asin Road.

These river systems have been monitored and interventions were implemented. Still, the water quality continues to go down. This means that construction of structures by the river systems is faster than the prevention of discharge of waste.

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Soon again Session Road will be closed to traffic to highlight the Baguio Flower Festival and accommodate Panagbenga’s “Session Road in Bloom.” All the way from the top of Session Road down to Malcolm Square; flowers in pots and orchids on driftwood will be displayed.

But alongside the flowers and orchids from Benguet farms and the wild frontiers of the Cordillera will be food delicacies, “Marikina shoes in bloom”, RTWs and wagwag clothes.

Oh how time flies fast over our rivers and flowers, but we are not about to see corrections on how things are run in this city.