Friday, October 1, 2021

The Pasig River is not dead, PAREx will kill it!


Wazzup Pilipinas!?

The Pasig River Expressway or PAREX may not help the environment at all as groups opposing its construction asserted that it will only worsen the urban heat in the National Capital Region.

"If we are to prevent our rivers from dying, if we are to prevent them from being killed, then we must take seriously the proposition that they are alive."

Pasig River is such a fascinating water body. It is brackish (mixture of fresh and saltwater) in nature and it can flow in 2 directions—either towards Manila Bay (wet season) or towards Laguna de Bay (dry season)—connecting and supporting two other important water bodies!

According to lexicographer Jose Villa Panganiban, “Pasig” comes from Sanskrit meaning “river flowing from one body of water to another;” what an appropriate name. There is fascinating hydrology, ecology, and heritage in the river, all of which at stake in the face of PAREX.


The city and river's name, "Pasig" is a Tagalog word which means "a river that flows into the sea" - tapos sisementuhin nila?

If they say Pasig River is dead (which I dispute), shouldn't the course of action be remediation and restoration, not further destruction?

And those who say it's just the banks that will be damaged, that doesn't actually help your case at all. River banks, floodplains, and riparian areas in general are critical to the functioning and regulation of aquatic ecosystems.

If Pasig river is dead kamusta naman ang Manila bay? Tapos may dolomite? Tapos pupuntahan ng mga tao? For mental health? Ogag talaga reasoning ng mga mokong mailusot lang yung project na hindi naman for the benefit of all Filipinos.

They could have channeled the Manila Bay dolomite fund to the Pasig river restoration instead.

Maganda pa naman ang naging proyekto ni Gina Lopez et al sa rehabilitation ng Pasig river. Eme kasi yung admin ngayon at hindi na sinuportahan yung proyekto.



There’s been several initiatives reviving Pasig River and there are indications of some success. An expressway above it will kill the river. 

Pasig River is the “soul” of the old Manila and a main artery of Metro Manila. Do not kill it. Honor its history and heritage.

Itong ilog na to ang may malaking kontribusyon sa kalakalan ng Pilipinas. Dapat alagan at buhayin!

Ano ba ginawa sa mga estero, tinakpan at ginawang kalasada sa Makati, anong nangyari, eh di binabaha pag malakas ang ulan. Sa Marikina River, nauubos ang river banks sa kakareclaim kaya umaapaw kapag tagulan. Ang Pasig ay ilog at hindi dapat takpan na parang kaldero.

Pasig River is a living entity with a right to life - and thus we must say #NoToPAREX.

Every river system needs direct sunlight to thrive. Thus, building a highway on top of the Pasig River is not only a stupid idea, it’s murderous to the surviving ecosystem there.  

Madaming paraan para maka travel pero konti lang ang paraan para ma-save ang environment. For once, let's save the river, not just ourselves.

An expressway on the Pasig River will spoil its scenic vistas, as well as ruin the quality of life of those who live beside it.

We don’t need expressways. We need more mass transit projects. We need to move away from being a car-centric country.

Bakit ba expressway ang naisip. Mas efficient ang ferry system.

What Metro Manila needs is more trees, more parks, more walkways, more bike lanes, better public transport - and a revitalized Pasig River: its once and future jewel. 

They keep on building infrastructures that harms both the environment and the heritage that goes through it. Why can't they just improve traffic systems than build these projects that'll only add more fuel to the fire, and when I say fuel, I mean more cars due to demand.

Focus on green-friendly mass trasportation instead of ugly skyways all over the metro with the government’s car-centric policy that only supports the privileged.

Magpaggawa ng overpass na may escalator at elevator for PWDs. 

Magpaggawa ng dagdag na LRT line within Metro Manila like sa kahabaan ng Buendia, Shaw Blvd. Boni Ave., Quezon Ave. karugtong ng Espanya hangang Central Station, Sucat Road, Zapote Rd, Congressional hangang Roosevelt.

Lastly, magpagawa ng maraming government hospitals and public markets na community base para hindi na lalayo ang mga tao. 

At pagisipan na rin ang in-city housing projects na vertical. Dagdag mo pa ang pagutilize ng government idle lands to create centralize government centers.

If you happen to see the old maps of Metro Manila, there are streams and canals from Manila Bay and from Pasig River itself. These are daluyan ng tubig, these are what we call the arms of the sea. And naturally formed, if we can bring them back to balance the geological land form.

Every river system needs direct sunlight to thrive. Thus, building a highway on top of the Pasig River is not only a stupid idea, it’s murderous to the surviving ecosystem there.  

An expressway on the Pasig River will spoil its scenic vistas, as well as ruin the quality of life of those who live beside it.

We say #NoToPAREX - it will benefit neither the environment nor the people, and likely harm both.

This is Skyway Stage 3 passing through Pasig River. It gives us a preview of the Pasig River Expressway (PAREX), a ₱95-B project from SMC which was hastily approved by gov’t in just 72 days; its groundbreaking was held 3 days after.

Almost 5,000 have signed a Change.org petition to stop the project. 


Link: 

https://www.change.org/p/san-miguel-corporation-stop-the-proposed-pasig-river-expressway-notoparex-ilogpasiglahin

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