Pasig River Ferry ride

last Sunday I was lucky to have experienced a river ride in all my 41 yrs of living in
the city. part of the Sentimental walk down memory lane, a project of my friend Chito
and the organizing committee, everybody enjoyed. all went home with a smile.

The Pasig River, which stretches for 25 kilometers from Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay,
serves as a major transport route, source of water, and lifeline of one of the biggest
freshwater lakes in the world -Laguna de Bay.and we know its a vital ecosystem
and an irreplaceable natural resource.

Yet, for centuries the Pasig River has been used, abused, and neglected. Since the
early 1500s, commerce and day-to-day needs have pressed Pasig and its tributaries
into tireless service.

now it looks like this.

pasig river ferry videos: part1   part 2   part 3   part 4

The PUP linear park and the ferries look nice. I hope that they clean up the river banks.
am afraid of water, but I would want to take a ferry ride just to see the sights where the
Pasig River runs through thats why I took the risk, without life jacket and 1% chance that
the ferry may hit any barges going through. for documenting purposes I took my chances.

you know, this Ferry boat scheme was done before, I think about the year 1990.
I remember Magsaysay Lines invested and put up a Ferry Boat Service for Manila
to places upriver. they gave free boat rides for the commuter before finally starting
the operation with fees. the Ferry boat station was beside the Feati University near
MacArthur bridge, then after a few months the ferry scheme died of natural death
and they lost their investment. They were good in operating and managing big ocean
vessels in the foreign trade but they failed in the River Ferry

pic by Mark Anthony Maranga

It was revived again during the time of Ate Glo, then stopped operation, revived
again through the efforts of MMDA Chair Atty. Francis Tolentino in time for the project
of the Heritage Conservation Society -Youth for the revival of the Queen. called #selfiEscolta.

most People in Manila specially the youths and gangstahs of the new generation were
not used to ride in Ferry boat especially in Pasig river unlike people in Thailand, Vietnam,
etc. there are improvements though, because I have the chance to ride a real ferry boat
upstream although the feerry boat is so spartan looking  in a way, that its like an old 70s
mini bus shell welded to a bouyant boat shell, the government is not that successful in
promoting this as a tourist attraction......

For a successful marketing scheme for tourism, and for the  ferry boats transport system
in the Pasig river to succeed, we need to
1. improve the look of the ferries.  - ive seen a much cooler version near pandacan
put aircondition and a sound system for guided tours.
2. use the pasig river to the fullest. before during the spanish time, this river is a busy
channel, trade and commerce at full swing, everybody is using it, until the filipinos of the
new generation killed it through decades of misuse, littering and industrialization.
solution? clean it, allow travel at night, by lighting the riverbanks and waterways,

I love the old design of the ferry, but...
Children, this is now the new Pasig river Ferry. it evolved. sad to say...

the ferry upclose

you know, friends, I don't know why revitalization of our pasig river is not the utmost
priority of our rich government.  in our social studies class, we learned that , for any
major city the river is the showcase and the artery that gives it life.
now, the project named "Buhayin ang metro manila " cannot be realized with a dead river.
Perhaps it is better to have a program name as "Buhayin ang nationalismo." so we have
more heritage lovers, advocates and protector with a loving heart and care for our
remaining national assets.

we needed the cooperation of every filipinos because MMDA can clean and dredge
the river, but to no avail if most of Pinoy will not cooperate, it will still be polluted.
pinoys of every social class everyone is dumping garbage in the street, whether it is a
cigarette butts, small plastics and paper, now, when it rains garbage they throw will flow
with the water to the drainage, going then to the Pasig River.

Pasig River is polluted not only by chemical discharges from the factories along the
Pasig, but also polluted from the waste and garbage from the street. I know this because
my friends from HSC-Youth have tried helping the mmda clean the river. but they told me
that the waste and garbage came from different parts of Manila, that flow, and not from
Escolta.

The river has now been declared a critical water body because of the unspeakable
amount of waste dumped into it daily by households and industries. About 330 tons
of industrial and domestic wastes are discharged everyday in this waterway, depleting
the biochemical oxygen needed to support marine life.

Concerted effort from the government, the industries and the citizenry is needed to
restore the beauty and grandeur of this important body of water located in the heart of
Manila. The rehabilitation of ILOG Pasig should became one of the priority programs of
government because of the significant role it plays in the vitality of the city.

I wish the next century and generation of kids will enjoy a cleaner river with different color
and bring back the glory days of our waterways. WISH.
this is your LOVERBOY Dennis signing out.