The Pasig River that belongs to all

Stretching some 125 kilometers, the great Pasig used to be Manila's lifeline. It connects Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay and has two of Metro Manila rivers as major tributaries, the Marikina and San Juan Rivers.

Long regarded as a dying river, efforts to revive the Ilog Pasig, date back long before the Marcos administration, when the infamous residents of Malacanang Palace stayed there for at least 25 years. The official presidential residence is right by the Pasig River that the decay and eminent demise of the river never misses presidential attention.

Filipinos should claim ownership of the Pasig River for all Filipinos to carry responsibilitiesfor it.

The advocacy for the Pasig River was made even more popular when a famous popular local singer once said in a song, "Anak ng Pasig naman kayo," (translated from the famous imprintable bad phrase in Filipino).

The river, like its major tributaries host tons of urban wastes. While old folk would remember it as "teeming with fish and life," the younger generations of Manilans could not imagine how beautiful it had been.

Efforts to dredge it of garbage and make its banks back to its old glory need more serious advocacy.

The recent funrun to raise awareness, and funds, for the Ilog Pasig drew a giant crowd of old and new supporters.

Some years back, the government embarked on a Pasig ferry project for people to appreciate the waterway as a transportation alternative. This still needs a parallel advocacy campaign because the state of the river spells the success for this effort, also aimed at easing the traffic situation in the metropolis. #