“Kalikasan ay Kalingain para sa Kinabukasan (KKK)- Save the Pateros River” project of the Rotary Club of Makati Pasong Tamo (RCMPT)
by SVP Reynaldo ‘Rey’ Gonzales
Last September 5, 2009, A very serious but productive impromptu meeting was held at the Municipal Hall of Pateros spearheaded by SVP Rey Gonzales with Governor Sid Garcia, Honorable Mayor Joey Medina of Pateros, DCC Mon Veluz, and other Rotarians from RCMPT and other clubs. SVP Rey Gonzales presented to the Mayor their “Kalikasan ay Kalingain para sa Kinabukasan (KKK) – Save the Pateros River Basin” project. The Mayor was so happy and impressed with the project. SVP Rey presented to him a poster which shows a collage of historical pictures which showed the glorious days of the Pateros River and the current state of the dying river and the Mayor requested to have a copy of the poster to serve as a reminder that there is work to be done.
Massive educational campaigns about the current state of the 8 kilometer river which used to have clear waters and flourished up until the fifties will be undertaken. Fluvial parades were held in the River during fiestas in honor of St. Martha, and the famous duck farms were aplenty producing our famous balut. The balut industry has died because of the dying river which have become uninhabitable not only to the ducks but also to its main food source, the famous golden snails or “suso” which have vanished and now extinct in the once pristine waters of the Pateros River. In spite of the murky, smelly black waters of the still river, there are now many illegal settlers who live on the riverbanks because some parts of the river have dried up. It is just like an unflushed toilet, a stagnant sewerage deposit of the Municipality of Pateros and the Cities of Pasig, Taguig and Makati. Much have been done to help resurrect the Pasig Rivers’ glory but the rivers that are also connected to this river have been neglected and shut down to the detriment not only of the inhabitants of Pateros but to the millions of people who will suffer from the ill effects of the environmental destruction and degradation of the river. This Environmental project will definitely touch on humanitarian issues (such as health, hunger, literacy, water and sanitation that the Rotary Club of Makati Pasong Tamo will try to address. A long term project indeed but as the song goes “it only takes a spark to get the fire going”… RCMPT will spread the news and pass it on to everyone to make them aware and realize the value of God’s creations which should be preserved and protected so that it will be enjoyed by future generations.
The Honorable Mayor listened intently to the presentation of SVP Rey Gonzales and promised to partner with the Rotary and help in any way he can so that the Pateros river and its tributaries will be restored back to life. He in fact graciously invited SVP Rey and the Governor to come back again and promised to give a special guided tour of the Pateros River. The primary goal of this project has been fulfilled, that is to let the concerned officials/ people know that there are many groups who care about the environment and Rotary is one of them. Rotarians will not let environmental destruction and degradation take place because our children’s future and the future of this planet really depends on how good a steward we have become during our lifetime.
A lot of funds are needed to restore this beautiful river. It has to be dredged, constantly cleaned of trash and the illegal settlers who constructed their homes by the river banks and on the river itself should be removed and a suitable relocation site be offered to them. RCMPT will appreciate very much any support it can get from the other Clubs or other organizations especially if you have properties suitable for relocating families that will be displaced.
This is like a time bomb waiting to explode and we all witnessed a sampling of how nature violently reacted specially during the very recent destructive typhoon “Ondoy” . Now a lot of Baranggays in Pateros are still inundated by flood waters and the Municipality might just disappear if we don’t take action.
Pateros River is dying. It is just like a toilet un flushed by a total of (2) Million residents of the Cities of Makati, Pasig,Taguig and the only municipality of Metro-Manila, PATEROS. At the backdoor of the prestigious The Fort City of Taguig, is a winding (8) kilometers of a river that became a stagnant sewerage deposit of a total of almost Two Million Residents trapped by expanding industrialization of the Economic Globalization in the Area.
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