Manila Bay is one of 35 pollution hotpots identified in the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis
for the South China Sea (UNEP, East Asian Seas Regional Coordinating Unit, 2000). The
accelerated degradation of the Bay has significant negative impacts on the country’s socioeconomic
activities and is considered a major source of transboundary pollution. In response to
these challenges, the Manila Bay Coastal Strategy (MBCS) was prepared in 2001, with the
support of the GEF/UNDP/IMO Partnership for Environmental Management of the Seas of East
Asia (PEMSEA), and adopted by national and local stakeholders.
While water is supplied to about 90% of MM population, only about 15% of the population is
connected to a sewerage system; only one half of the latter are provided with sewage treatment.
About 85% have septic tanks, which are often poorly constructed, inadequately maintained, and
are effectively bypassed. Most residents rely on open drains to evacuate effluent from their
septic tanks.