By Aerol John Pateña/PNA
MANILA — Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said Thursday they will look into the liability of local government units (LGUs) that issued business permits to establishments found to have dumped wastewater at the Manila Bay.
Año said the DILG will create an investigating team to determine the accountability of the LGUs.
“We will look into the liability of the LGUs that issued business permits to these establishments. We will investigate the extent of the violation of certain companies and based on the result of the inspection, we will see if the violation is new or if it has been going on for a long time. We will determine their accountability,” Año told reporters at the sidelines of the meeting of the Metro Manila Council (MMC) at the office of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in Makati City on Thursday.
He also warned that administrative and criminal cases will be filed against local government officials who are not complying with environmental laws.
Año noted that LGU officials present at the MMC meeting have expressed their support for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay and vowed that they will suspend or cancel the business permits of firms polluting the bay.
Meanwhile, Año said the DILG will also prioritize the relocation of informal settler families residing along the waterways going to the Manila Bay.
“We will prioritize those living along the waterways to remove the source of wastes from informal settler families (ISFs), which go to the Manila Bay),” he said.
According to DILG data, there are some 230,000 ISFs living along the Manila Bay and its tributaries.
