The Government has recognized that the most effective way to ensure that water quality in the
Pasig River – Laguna de Bay – Manila Bay watershed and in the East Asia Seas improves is
through a strategy that scales up investments in sewerage and sanitation and ensures that
investments are directed in an economically efficient manner based on environmental criteria.
The GOP is committed to addressing the barriers listed above in order to achieve this goal.
Thus, GOP has developed the sector strategy and service provision masterplans, provided legal
background and initiated investment projects in sewerage and sanitation services. Among the
GOP’s major investments are the Manila First, Second and Third Sewerage Projects
implemented by MWSS and its concessionaires, supported by the Bank. In addition, the Pasig
River Environmental Management and Rehabilitation Sector Development Program has been
implemented by the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission with support from ADB. These
actions have positively contributed to service improvements and operating performance of
wastewater facilities, and gradually contributed to reducing the enormous scale of the service
deficiency and pollution problem. The current GEF project is designed to enhance these
previous activities through resolution of several key institutional, legal, financial and technical
barriers in order to enable an investment environment that would allow a scaling up of more
efficient investment in the pollution control sector in the future.