At least 600 personnel and officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its attached bureaus and agencies participated in the launching of the Manila Bay Rehabilitation project held on January 27, 2019 at the Manila Baywalk.

Joining thousands of workers and volunteers from government and non-government agencies, DA employees gathered for the solidarity walk from Quirino Grandstand to the Baywalk near Rajah Sulayman Plaza and helped in the initial cleanup along Manila Bay.

DA Undersecretary for Operations Ariel Cayanan was thankful for the support shown by the DA officials and employees recognizing that the event was scheduled on a Sunday, which is supposed to be a family day.

“Ang commitment lang po natin ay nasa apat na raang tao. As per head count kanina, mahigit na anim na raan po ang dumating, so maganda po ang suporta ng ating mga empleyado (We only committed 400 people. As per the head count earlier, more than 600 people arrived, so we have much support from our employees),” he said.

The DA is one of the 13 government agencies directed by the Supreme Court Mandamus on Manila Bay to take actions in the clean-up, rehabilitation, and preservation of the Manila Bay. Led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the project aims at restoring and maintaining Manila Bay’s SB level, which means that the water is safe for swimming, skin-diving, and other forms of contact recreation.

Cayanan said that the Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Soils and Water Management, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the Regional Field Offices in Region III and Region IV-A are the main agencies under DA that will be involved in the rehabilitation effort.

“Where water flows, that is from where food grows,” he added stressing the importance of Manila Bay and other bodies of water to the agriculture sector.

He also mentioned the reef to ridge principle emphasizing the connectivity of land and water for a holistic perspective.

Supporting the message of DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu, Cayanan also encouraged the DA family to be inspired by the previous project on the rehabilitation of Boracay.

“To sustain it, we really have to discipline ourselves, and at the same time we really have to think not only of today but also of the future,” he said.

The rehabilitation project, dubbed as the Battle for Manila Bay, is a historic event for the welfare of the next generation of Filipinos. ### (Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-AFID)