Some 5,000 squatter families situated along the river banks will have to be relocated before the project is started.

Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) chair Emilia Boncodin, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza and Cesar Lacuna of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the 15-year span project.

The ferry service is expected to help decongest Manila megalopolis and achieve some of the goals set by President Arroyo early in her second term, according to MMDA.

The ferry service was in operation during the term of former President Fidel V. Ramos, with then First Lady Amelita Ramos overseeing the histroric river’s rehabilitation. It was a well-patronized service despite the sometimes unpleasant odor emanating from the Pasig’s murky waters.

It saved passengers from the madness of Metro Manila’s vehicular traffic.

Lacuna said the ferry boats to be used are air-conditioned and each is large enough to accommodate from between 50 and 100 passengers. "As such, passengers do not have to worry about being sprayed with foul water as the ferry traverses the Pasig," Lacuna said.

The stations are to be built at the Del Pan Bridge, Jones Bridge, MacArthur Bridge, Arroceros, Nagtahan, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), and Sta. Ana, all in Manila.

The Marcos Bridge and Sta. Elena, in Marikina City will have two platforms each, one in Valenzuela, Poblacion, and Guadalupe in Makati City, Lambingan Bridge and Hulo in Mandaluyong City, and Bambang in Pasig City. The service may be extended to along the Laguna Lake an the Manila Bay areas.

The stations will be equipped with viewing decks and seats for waiting passengers, comfort rooms, closed circuit television and scanners for security, turnstile and ticketing booths, vending machines and telephone booths, and a 24-hour security service. Facilities for the handicapped will also be installed.

The problem on whether the boats could smoothly travel through the garbage-filled river is now being addressed, according to Mendoza. He said the river’s floor is being cleared of sunken derelicts.

"The project to rehabilitate Pasig River is a 15-year program. And despite the limited achievement we have so far made, we are improving the river. At least we’re making sure that endemic creatures in the water are preserved," Lacuna stressed.

Lacuna said that in 2002, the MMDA cleared about 21,000 cubic meters of waste in the Metro’s drainage. Last year, this went down to 13,000 cubic meters. "It means our clearing operation is successful," he said. "This will enable us to build parks along the river banks."

According to Boncodin, projects to make the Pasig River ferry service an alternative mode of transport in Metro Manila failed partly because the propellers of the boats often jammed the vessels.

To date, at least 21 parties have signified joining the bidding for this project.

Boncodin said about 5,000 families situated along the river banks will have to move away and their houses demolished. Their relocation is being coordinated with local government agencies.