| Pasig River | |
|---|---|
(2019-01-09).jpg) Pasig River in Manila in 2019 | |
 Drainage basin map of the Pasig River | |
.svg)  Pasig River (Philippines) Show map of Philippines | |
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| Native name | Ilog Pasig (Tagalog) |
| Location | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | |
| Cities | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Laguna de Bay |
| • location | Taguig/Taytay, Rizal |
| • coordinates | 14°31′33″N121°06′33″E / 14.52583°N 121.10917°E /14.52583; 121.10917 |
| Mouth | Manila Bay |
• location | Manila |
• coordinates | 14°35′40″N120°57′20″E / 14.59444°N 120.95556°E /14.59444; 120.95556 |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 25.2 km (15.7 mi) |
| Basin size | 4,678 km2 (1,806 sq mi)[2] |
| Width | |
| • average | 90 m (300 ft)[1] |
| Depth | |
| • minimum | 0.5 m (1.6 ft)[1] |
| • maximum | 5.5 m (18 ft)[1] |
| Discharge | |
| • minimum | 12 m3/s (420 cu ft/s)[1] |
| • maximum | 275 m3/s (9,700 cu ft/s)[1] |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left |
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| • right |
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| Bridges | 20 |
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ThePasig River (Filipino:Ilog Pasig;Spanish:Río Pásig) is a water body in thePhilippines that connectsLaguna de Bay toManila Bay. Stretching for 25.2 kilometers (15.7 mi), it bisects the Philippine capital ofManila andits surrounding urban area into northern and southern halves. Its majortributaries are theMarikina River andSan Juan River. The totaldrainage basin of the Pasig River, including the basin ofLaguna de Bay, covers 4,678 square kilometers (1,806 sq mi).[2]
The Pasig River is technically atidal estuary, as the flow direction depends upon the water level difference between Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay. During thedry season, the water level in Laguna de Bay is low with the river's flow direction dependent on the tides. During thewet season, when the water level of Laguna de Bay is high, the flow is reversed towards Manila Bay.
The Pasig River used to be an important transport route and source of water forSpanishManila. Due to negligence and industrial development, the river suffered a rapid decline in the second half of the 20th century and was declared biologically dead in 1990.[3] Two decades after that declaration, however, a renaturation program designed to revive the river has seen the return of life to the river, including eight fish species, 39 species of birds, and 118 species of trees and other vegetation.[4][5] As a result, the Pasig River received theAsia Riverprize by theInternational River Foundation in 2019.[3]
ThePasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) was a Philippine government agency established to oversee rehabilitation efforts for the river from 1999 until it was abolished in November 2019. Rehabilitation efforts are also aided by private sector organizations through raising funds or assisting river cleanups.
The river takes its name from the city ofPasig, which is named after theTagalog wordpasig, meaning "a river that flows into the sea" or "the sandy bank of a river", with the former in reference to the Pasig River's flow fromLaguna de Bay towardsManila Bay and out into theSouth China Sea.[6]
The Pasig River served as an important means of transport; it wasManila's lifeline and center of economic activity. Some of the most prominent kingdoms inearly Philippine history, including the kingdoms ofNamayan,Maynila, andTondo grew up along the banks of the river, drawing their life and source of wealth from it. When the Spanish established Manila as the capital of their colonial properties in the Far East, they built the walled city ofIntramuros on the southern bank of the Pasig River near its mouth.
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AfterWorld War II, massive population growth, infrastructure construction, and the dispersal of economic activities to Manila's suburbs left the river neglected. The banks of the river attracted informal settlers and the remaining factories dumped their wastes into the river, making it effectively a huge sewer system. Industrialization had already polluted the river.[7]
In the 1930s, observers noticed the increasing pollution of the river, as fish migration from Laguna de Bay diminished. People ceased using the river's water for laundering in the 1960s, and ferry transport declined. By the 1970s, the river started to emanate offensive smells, and in the 1980s, fishing in the river was prohibited. In 1990, the Pasig River was consideredbiologically dead by theDanish International Development Agency.[8][7]
It is estimated that about 60-65 percent of the pollution in the Pasig River comes from household waste disposed into the tributaries of the river. Increasing poverty in the rural areas in Philippines has driven migration toMetro Manila in search of better opportunities. This resulted in rapid urban growth, congestion and overcrowding of land and along the riverbanks, making the river and its tributaries a dumping ground for informal settlers living there. About 30–35 percent of the river pollution is generated from industries located close to the river (such as tanneries, textile mills, food processing plants, distilleries, and chemical and metal plants), some of which do not have water treatment facilities capable of removing heavy metal pollutants. The rest of the pollutants consist of solid waste dumped into the rivers. Metro Manila has been reported to produce as much as 7,000 metric tons (6,900 long tons; 7,700 short tons) of garbage per day.[9] A study conducted by researchers from thePolytechnic University of the Philippines found that the river is also contaminated withmicroplastics.[10] It is also the world's single largest source ofmarine plastic pollution, being responsible for 6.43% of global marine plastic pollution.[11]
Efforts to revive the river began in December 1989 with the help ofDanish authorities. The Pasig River Rehabilitation Program (PRRP) was established, with theDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as the main agency with the coordination of the Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA).[12]
In 1994, First LadyAmelita M. Ramos founded the Clean & Green Foundation Inc., a non-government and non-profit organization. The organization conducted fundraising projects such as thePiso para sa Pasig (Filipino: "Apeso for the Pasig") campaign. The campaign raised around PHP52 million.[13]
In 1999, PresidentJoseph Estrada signed Executive Order No. 54 establishing thePasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) to replace the old PRRP with additional expanded powers such as managing of wastes and resettling of squatters.[12] The PRRC was abolished in November 2019, with its functions and powers being transferred to the Manila Bay Task Force, DENR,Department of Housing and Urban Development,Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and theDepartment of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).[14]
In 2010, the television networkABS-CBN and PRRC headed byABS-CBN Foundation-Bantay Kalikasan DirectorGina Lopez – then chairperson of PRRC – launched afun run fund-raising activity called "Run for the Pasig River" held every October from 2009 to 2013. The proceeds from the fun run will serve as a fund for the "Kapit-bisig para sa Ilog Pasig" (Collaborate for the Pasig River) rehabilitation project of the Pasig River.[15][16][17] No further fun run has been announced since the 2013 event.
In October 2018, the PRRC won the firstAsia Riverprize, in recognition of its efforts to rehabilitate the Pasig River.[18][19] According to the PRRC, aquatic life has returned to the river.[18]
On April 20, 2021,San Miguel Corporation announced that it would initiate a clean-up of the Pasig River in May 2021. SMC will also work with the DENR and the DPWH in this river cleanup.[20] The river cleanup is part of San Miguel Corporation's₱95 billionPasig River Expressway project.
On January 17, 2024, theBongbong Marcos administration inaugurated its Pasig Bigyang Buhay Muli (PBBM;lit. 'Give Life to Pasig Again') project, aiming to revitalize the Pasig River through the development of linear parks, walkways, bikeways, and commercial developments. The program also aims to improve the existing Pasig River Ferry System through the addition of more ferry boats and stations.[21]
Bongbong Marcos inaugurated on January 17, 2024 the "Pasig River Esplanade", the first phase of the P18-billion Pasig River Urban Development of the Rehabilitation of the Pasig River. The Inter-Agency Council for the Pasig River Urban Development (IAC-PRUD) perJose Acuzar announced that it will build 8 more esplanades in other parts of the 25-kilometer river. The 500-metre (1,600 ft)embankment behind the Manila Central Post Office features thepromenade which will be 25 kilometres (16 mi) long on each side of the Pasig River. Acuzar further said that the promenade would lead to a 150-hectare (370-acre) park inRizal that may be called "Marcos Park".[22][23]
The Pasig River has been infested withinvasive species, notably thewater hyacinth and thejanitor fish. Water hyacinth, introduced in the Philippines around 1912 as an ornamental plant, has been thrown into the Pasig River; this led the profusely-growing plants to thrive in the river as well as Laguna de Bay due to shifting tides.[24] The plants are currently considered a notorious pest as they clog the waterways.[25] Introduced in the 1990s to cleanalgae, the janitor fish has become one of the most destructive fishes. Aside from preying on small fish and contributing to the river's murkiness, its population has exponentially risen due to lack of natural predators.[24]
In December 2024, asmemorial to Pasig River, thePhilippine Postal Corporation launched atBonifacio Shrine, Gelo Andres and Renacimiento Manila'swork, the P150 "Simbang Gabi sa Ilog Pasig”. The longest usablestamp measures 234mm x 40mm. Thepostage stamp design features 9historical churches fromBinondo toAntipolo along the River.[26]
The Pasig River winds generally northwestward for some 25 kilometers (15.5 mi) fromLaguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines, toManila Bay, in the southern part of the island ofLuzon. From the lake, the river runs betweenTaguig andTaytay, Rizal, before enteringPasig. This portion of the Pasig River, to the confluence with theMarikina River tributary, is known as the Napindan River or Napindan Channel.
From there, the Pasig forms flows throughPasig until its confluence with theTaguig River. From here, it forms the border betweenMandaluyong to the north andMakati to the south. The river then sharply turns northeast, where it becomes the border between Mandaluyong andManila before turning again westward, joining its other major tributary, theSan Juan River, and then following a sinuous path through the center of Manila before emptying into Manila Bay.
The whole river and most portions of its tributaries lie entirely withinMetro Manila, the metropolitan region of the capital.Isla de Convalecencia, the only island dividing the Pasig River, can be found in Manila and is where theHospicio de San Jose is located.
One major river that drains Laguna de Bay is theTaguig River, which enters into Taguig before becoming the Pateros River; it is the border between the municipalities ofPateros and Makati. The Pateros River then enters theconfluence where the Napindan Channel andMarikina River meet. TheMarikina River is the larger of the two major tributaries of the Pasig River, and it flows southward from the mountains ofRizal and cuts through theMarikina Valley. The San Juan River drains the plateau on whichQuezon City stands; its major tributary is Diliman Creek.
Within the city of Manila, variousesteros (canals) criss-cross through the city and connect with theTullahan River in the north and theParañaque River to the west.
A total of 20bridges currently cross the Pasig. The first bridge from the source atLaguna de Bay is the Napindan Bridge, followed by the Arsenio Jimenez Bridge to its west. Crossing the Napindan Channel in Pasig is the Bambang Bridge. It is followed by the Kaunlaran Bridge that connects barangays Buting and Sumilang in Pasig.[27]
The next bridge downstream is the C.P. Garcia Bridge carryingC-5 Road and connecting the cities of Makati and Pasig. It is followed by theSta. Monica–Lawton Bridge, the newest bridge opened in June 2021 that connects Lawton Avenue in Makati to Fairlane Street in Pineda, Pasig as part of the Bonifacio Global City–Ortigas Link Road project approved in 2015.[28]
The Guadalupe Bridge between Makati and Mandaluyong carriesEpifanio de los Santos Avenue, the major artery of Metro Manila, as well as theMRT Line 3 fromGuadalupe station toBoni station. TheEstrella–Pantaleon andMakati–Mandaluyong Bridges likewise connect the two cities downstream, with the latter forming the end ofMakati Avenue.
The easternmost crossing in Manila is Lambingan Bridge in the district ofSanta Ana. It is then followed by the Tulay Pangarap Footbridge (Abante Bridge), the newest pedestrian bridge that connects the Punta area and Santa Ana proper.[29] It is followed by the Abante Bridge (Tulay Pangarap Footbridge) inSanta Ana,Skyway Stage 3, and the Padre Zamora (Pandacan) Bridge connectingPandacan andSanta Mesa districts, and carries the southern line of thePhilippine National Railways. The expressway bridge of Skyway Stage 3, serving as a connection road between theNorth Luzon Expressway and theSouth Luzon Expressway, is built near the mouth of theSan Juan River where most parts of it is built and another bridge parallel to Padre Zamora and PNR bridges will be built to merge with NLEX Connector in Santa Mesa; it will thus serve as a solution to heavy traffic along EDSA. TheMabini Bridge (formerly Nagtahan Bridge) provides a crossing for Nagtahan Street, part ofC-2 Road.Ayala Bridge carries Ayala Boulevard, and connects theIsla de Convalecencia to both banks of the Pasig.
Further downstream are theQuezon Bridge fromQuiapo toErmita, theLine 1 bridge fromCentral Terminal station toCarriedo station,MacArthur Bridge fromSanta Cruz to Ermita, and theJones Bridge fromBinondo to Ermita. The last bridge near the mouth of the Pasig is the Roxas Bridge (also known as M. Lopez Bridge and formerly called Del Pan Bridge) fromSan Nicolas toPort Area andIntramuros.
The growth of Manila along the banks of the Pasig River has made it a focal point for development and historical events. The foremost landmark on the banks of the river is the walled district ofIntramuros, located near the mouth of the river on its southern bank. It was built by the Spanish colonial government in the 16th century. Further upstream is theHospicio de San Jose, an orphanage located on Pasig's sole island, theIsla de Convalescencia. On the northern bank stands theQuinta Market in Quiapo, Manila's central market, andMalacañan Palace, the official residence of thePresident of the Philippines. Also on the Pasig River's northern bank and within the Manila district ofSta. Mesa is the main campus of thePolytechnic University of the Philippines.
In Makati, along the southern bank of Pasig, areCircuit Makati (the former Santa Ana Race Track), the Poblacion sewage treatment plant and pumping station ofManila Water, and theRockwell Center, a high-end office and commercial area. At the confluence of the Pasig and Marikina rivers is the Napindan Hydraulic Control Structure, which regulates the flow of water from the Napindan Channel.
The third chapter ofJose Rizal's novelEl filibusterismo mentions several stories surrounding certain geographical features along the Pasig River during the Spanish colonial era, such as theBuwayang Bato, theMalapad na Bato, and Doña Geromina's Cave.[30]
Doña Geromina's Cave, according to legend, was built by theArchbishop of Manila as a sanctuary for his former lover.[30] The cave is believed to be located in Barangay Pineda, Pasig under the Bagong Ilog Bridge, which carriesCircumferential Road 5 between Pasig and Taguig.[citation needed]
In what is now BarangayWest Rembo, Taguig,[citation needed] a cliff along the river is known asMalapad-na-bato (lit. '"Wide-rock"'), which was considered to be sacred to the earlyTagalog people as a home tospirits.[30] After theNuestra Señora de Gracia Church was completed in 1630, it eventually became a pilgrimage site for newly converted Christians, resulting in a decline in the importance ofMalapad-na-bató as a religious site.[citation needed] It was mentioned inEl Filibusterismo that the sacred character of the site disappeared as fears of the spirits living there had disappeared after the cliff was inhabited bybandits.[30]
TheBuwayang Bato (lit. '"crocodile rock"') was a rock formation that allegedly resembled a largecrocodile. InEl Filibusterismo, the legend tells a story of a rich Chinese man who did not believe in Catholicism that boasted of not being afraid of crocodiles. One day, while trading on the river, the man was attacked by a large crocodile. It was said that after the Chinese man prayed to San Nicholas for mercy, the crocodile turned into stone.[30] The rock formation is believed to have been located at the southeastern shore of Mandaluyong, in the namesake barangay of Buayang Bato.[citation needed] Other rock formations in the country that resemble crocodiles can be found nearBoracay, andSanta Ana, Cagayan.
The Pasig River's main watershed is concentrated in the plains betweenManila Bay andLaguna de Bay. The watershed of theMarikina River tributary mostly occupies the Marikina Valley, which was formed by theMarikina Fault Line. TheManggahan Floodway is an artificially constructed waterway that aims to reduce the flooding in the Marikina Valley during the rainy season, by bringing excess water to Laguna de Bay.
The Pasig River is technically considered a tidal estuary. Toward the end of the summer or dry season (April and May), the water level in Laguna de Bay reaches to a minimum of 10.5 meters (34 ft). During times ofhigh tide, the water level in the lake may drop below that of Manila Bay's, resulting in a reverse flow of seawater from the bay into the lake. This results in increased pollution and salinity levels in Laguna de Bay at this time of the year.[31]
The Pasig River is vulnerable to flooding in times of very heavy rainfall, with the Marikina River tributary the main source of the floodwater. TheManggahan Floodway was constructed to divert excess floodwater from the Marikina River into Laguna de Bay, which serves as a temporary reservoir. By design, the Manggahan Floodway is capable of handling 2,400 cubic meters (85,000 cu ft) per second of water flow, with the actual flow being about 2,000 cubic meters (71,000 cu ft) per second. To complement the floodway, the Napindan Hydraulic Control System (NHCS) was built in 1983 at the confluence of the Marikina River and the Napindan Channel to regulate the flow of water between the Pasig River and the lake.[32]
A humancranium andmandible was described by D. Sánchez y Sánchez (1929) from under 2.1–3 m (6 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in) of Pasig Riveralluvium. It was discovered during construction of theChurch of the Jesuits in 1921 and was partially damaged during excavation,[33] and was noted to be 'primitive' through a loss of Neanderthal characters and mandibular traits (most notably in the teeth and lack of chin), coining the nameHomo manillensis. Sánchez y Sánchez classified the species as pre-indigenous using outdated methods based onracial classification. The specimen remains undated (although a Quaternary age has been suggested[34]), and Romeo (1979) somewhat equates the skull withHomo sapiens in his description. Sarat Chandra (1930) follows suite of Romeo (1979).[35][36][37]
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Media related toPasig River at Wikimedia Commons.svg)
