QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- The Philippine National Police Maritime Group (PNP-MG), together with the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Parañaque City, recently removed bamboo rafts and other floating debris obstructing the flow of Parañaque River at Barangay Don Galo.

DENR National Capital Region, through its South Field Office (SFO), was also present to assist in the clearing operations.

Parañaque River is one of the major tributaries of Manila Bay and forms part of the Muntinlupa-Paranaque-Las Pinas-Zapote (MUNTIPARLASPIZAP) River System traversing south of Metro Manila.

 It runs close to 2 kilometers long and drains parts of Pasay City, Parañaque City, and Las Piñas City, connected as it is with Estero Tripa de Gallina, Cutcut Creek, Villanueva Creek, Sapang Buaya Creek and a number of other smaller waterways. The mouth of Parañaque River also serves as a fishing port and docking area for small and commercial fishers.

Trash and other debris disposed in the upstream and midstream portions of the river system flows out to Manila Bay via the Parañaque River.

As lead coordinator of efforts to clean Manila Bay in Metro Manila, DENR NCR has been actively assisting local government units in the conduct of regular cleanups, installation of trash traps, provision of trash collector trikes and boats, and other interventions aimed at reducing the amount of trash that find their way to Manila Bay. (DENR NCR/PIA-NCR)