The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) has assured the public that the ongoing Pasig River Dredging Project has complied with all local and international laws and actually contributes to the rehabilitation of Manila Bay.

PRRC Executive Director Deogracias Tablan Jr. issued this statement in response to the article published in the Manila Bulletin on May 1 which alleged that the contaminated materials dredged from the riverbed are shipped to the Manila Bay reclamation area in Bacoor, Cavite.

Tablan clarified that all dredged materials are contained in the Underwater Placement with Overdepth Capping (UPOC) facility, which is the only accepted way of disposing aquatic waste worldwide. The UPOC is isolated and thus free from any outside activity.

The relocation of the clean soil from the UPOC to the Bacoor-Manila Bay Coastal Reclamation Project was originally included in the amendment to the Environmental Compliance Certificate issued to the dredging project last year – but was not implemented.

Tablan also denied the article’s claim that the dredging project “runs afoul” of the 1972 London Convention, a worldwide treaty that seeks to reduce pollution in waters.

“In fact, when we presented the Pasig River Dredging Project to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) last February when it called a meeting on the London Convention, its officials did not object to any of the project’s particulars,” he stressed.

The executive director added that as required by law, studies such as environmental impact assessments, bathymetric survey and baseline data analyses were conducted prior to the conduct of the dredging project. All studies generated positive results.

Moreover, Tablan refuted the article’s contention that there was overprice in the foreign-assisted project that is largely funded by the Belgian government. “The project’s cost from the time of its inception until its completion did not increase,” he affirmed.

Tablan added that after the project, the three eco-grab equipment used to dredge the river will be turned over to the PRRC.

The dredging project is a landmark effort to improve the quality of water in Pasig River and hasten the restoration of new life into the river system.