(PIA-NCR file)

QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos expressed her support to fully rehabilitate Pasig River.

In her Instagram account, the First Lady posted “Para sa Pasig River natin!” after the Inter-Agency Council for the Pasig River Urban Development (IAC-PRUD) presented its master plan for the massive rehabilitation of Pasig River in Malacanang on Wednesday.

Revitalizing the Pasig River into commercial, lifestyle tourism and culture hub, like Thames and Seine, is among the advocacies of the First Lady as reported by Tatler Asia magazine this month.

Dubbed as “Pasig Bigyan Buhay Muli” (PBBM) Project, the massive urban development undertaking was crafted by member-agencies of the IAC-PRUD which was created by virtue of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Executive Order 35 signed last July 25.

The PBBM Project is a holistic approach composed of development plans for mixed-use commercial areas, including tourist spots, and open public parks along the 25-kilometer stretch of the Pasig River from the Manila Bay all the way to the Laguna de Bay.

Initially, the IAC-PRUD identified eight key areas where the people-centric improvements could be made like jogging paths and bike lanes from the city of Manila up to Rizal province - traversing major cities in the metropolis.  

Informal settler families living along the river banks will be prioritized under the flagship Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program.

“Talagang ang Pangulong Bongbong Marcos po at si First Lady ang aktibong nagsusulong nito - hindi lamang para linisin kundi pagandahin at buhayin ang Ilog Pasig,” Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said.

“At bilin din po nila na tulungan ang mga kababayan nating naninirahan sa danger zones along the river. Kaya may plano na rin po kami para sa mga informal settler families diyan,” he added.

By virtue of EO 35, the IAC-PRUD was created with DHSUD as chair and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) as vice chair.

Members of the IAC-PRUD include the secretaries of DPWH, DENR, DILG, DOT, DoTr, DOF, DBM; the chairpersons of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and the NCCA, the general manager of the PPA, commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, the general manager of the Laguna Lake Development Authority and the chief executive officer of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority. The National Housing Authority will serve as the secretariat. (PIA-NCR)