DENR Region 4 vows to help rid Manila Bay of water hyacinths
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 4 Office has vowed to manage and control the water hyacinths coming from the Laguna Lake as part of the agency's action plan to lessen the overwhelming number of the aquatic plants from the Manila Bay.
DENR Regional Executive Director Nilo B. Tamoria said the agency and its partner offices will be making the move as part of DENR Sec. Roy Cimatu's order to prevent water hyacinths from entering and crowding the Manila Bay, which Tamoria admitted to be originating from Laguna and Rizal provinces.
According to Tamoria, Cimatu initially ordered the DENR National Capital Region (NCR) office to prepare an action plan to address the issue of water hyacinths proliferating in Marikina River, as the same may eventually flow to Manila Bay.
However, based on the assessment made by the NCR office, it was found that the water hyacinths actually originated from Laguna Lake, which was brought to Manila Bay through Napindan Channel by the wind.
"Our action plan should involve the immediate control and management of the water hyacinths within Laguna Lake so that it will not float towards Pasig River and Manila Bay. Our first line of defense is the river mouths in CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon)," Tamoria said.

Particularly, Tamoria directed the Manila Bay Coordinating Office in Rizal to look into the backflow of water lilies along Manggahan Floodway in Taytay and Cainta as well as to consider the possibility of propagating Kangkong or water spinach which, like water hyacinth, absorbs heavy metals. The advantage of Kangkong is that it does not float from one place to another.
Currently, only river rangers manage to limit the number of water hyacinths going to the Manila Bay by removing them along the tributaries of the Laguna Lake.
For the meantime, DENR's regional department will start hiring additional men to manually remove the water hyacinths and coordinate with the Department of Public Works and Highways for the use of trash skimmers for the mechanical removal of the aquatic plants.