By Freddie Velez OBANDO, Bulacan – Manila Bay clean-up activities in Central Luzon on Sunday were simultaneously held in this town headed by Bulacan Governor Daniel R. Fernando, together with Obando Mayor Edwin Santos, in Barangay Consuelo in Macabebe, Pampanga and Balanga Wetland and Nature Park, Puerto Rivas, Balanga, Bataan. According to the assessment of the representatives of different government agencies, led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which were tasked to implement the mandamus of the Supreme Court to rehabilitate Manila Bay, the water quality of Manila Bay in Central Luzon has shown marked improvements. In Sunday’s first anniversary of the Battle for Manila Bay held at the Fish Port of Barangay Tawiran here, DENR Regional Director for Central Luzon Paquito Moreno Jr. said that it was imperative to save the seafloors because there was a prediction that most of the fishes will eventually die due of plastic pollution, including those in Manila Bay. Moreno also said that with the launching of the Battle for Manila Bay, a total of 1.6 million kilos of waste in Central Luzon were gathered in 1,036 clean-up activities. He also pointed out that a swimmable area in Manila Bay was also declared in Aguawan Beach  in Sisiman village in Mariveles, Bataan where the fecal coliform level based on DENR’s latest reading was at 21 most probable number (MPN) that is way below the standard level of 100MPN. Meanwhile, Santos, explained that the clean-up activity of Manila Bay in the province of Bulacan that was launched in Barangay Tawiran in this town has shown a marked improvement in its river system that was included as one of the world's dirtiest rivers. The mayor said that before the Manila Bay rehabilitation program was launched, oyster farms together with other fish species in the town’s river system were badly affected because of the pollution. But now, one year after that the Battle for Manila Bay was launched, oysters together with other fish species are now starting to survive and thrive in the Obando River System, Santos noted. The mayor also pointed that before, marginalized fisherfolk in their town always complained that there was no enough fish being caught in their municipal waters, but now fishermen have started to catch fishes that are enough to feed their families. This can be attributed to the residents’ awareness on proper waste disposals that were previously being dumped in the town’s waterways, forcing the local government unit to set up a garbage transfer station in Barangay Tawiran. With at least 50 percent less garbage being thrown in the town’s river system now eliminated, the town's garbage transfer station is now being eyed to be converted into a Material Recovery Facility, where the garbage will be segregated and transformed into recyclable materials. Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Director for Central Luzon Julie Daquioag said that their agency was tasked to monitor regularly the rehabilitation efforts for the Manila Bay cleanup activities, and confirmed that the town of Obando has been very compliant with the program and that no show-cause orders were issued to its local government units. Santos attributed the diminishing garbage dumping on the town’s river system to the strict implementations of local ordinances and national laws on garbage disposals.