The relevance of the aims and scope of the project continues to be high.
Pollution from industrial and domestic wastewater is leading to the significant degradation of the
ecosystem in MM; fecal coliform levels in Manila Bay and Pasig River still greatly exceed the
DENR standards leading to problems of eutrophication. The 2008 Supreme Court Mandamus
underlines the relevance and also gave increased impetus to implementation. The activities under
this project were reported to the Supreme Court as part of the main interventions in response to
the Mandamus. However the project provides only a fraction of the solution; a massive
investment (approximately US$5 billion) into wastewater management is required in order to
return Manila Bay to a good status. The alignment with CWA-2004 is demonstrated through the
continued investment in elements of the project, described in Section 2.5. The relevance of the
project was underlined during the joint Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank run
conference on wastewater management in January 2014 where a number of Water Districts and
other actors highlighted the support needed in order to meet the requirements of CWA-2004. The
project aligns with the objective in the Philippines Development Strategy 2011-2016 (NEDA) to
improve environmental quality for a cleaner and healthier environment. The project is highly
relevant to the World Bank Philippines Country Assistance Strategy 2010-2013 and its
commitment to invest in water quality management.