ARTICLE REVIEW

Resolving the water pollution crisis in the Philippines: The

implications of water pollution on public health and the
economy

INTRODUCTION
Being told that the water in all your factors, the water you drink and use to bathe,
contains toxins such as mercury and feces. Now imagine that your local government
knew about these dangers but actively refused to share then until most of the
people you knew and loved had fallen it.

Hypothetical scenario is the current reality in the Philippines. An eighth of the

country’s rivers are considered too toxic for human and animal ingestion or contact
and are unable to support most forms of life. Moreover, fewer than half of the total
number of rivers in the Philippines have water safe enough for consumption. In
recent years, contaminants found in a large and small bodies of water contributed to
one third of the reported illnesses in the Philippines. More surprisingly, the response
by Filipino government to combat this epidemic remains limited.

This paper supplies an in-depth description of the water crisis in the Philippines. It’s
implications and effects on the health of local people, and it’s impact on the local
and national economy. It will next provide four potential actions for the Filipino
government to pursue and will explain potential drawbacks of these actions. From
this option, this paper will select a policy recommendation that will require the
government to acknowledge the concerns of international environmental
organizations.

BODY

The Philippines, a south Asian nation, Is a collection of 7,107 islands surrounded by

Luzon strait, south china sea, Sulu sea, celebes sea, and Philippines sea. The tropical
climate of the islands allow for growth of corn, sugar cane, root crops, and rice.
Agriculture uses approximately 32% of the total land in the Philippines. The
Philippines is only a small exporter of agricultural goods and livestock. The islands
export live fish, processed fish, seafood, bananas , tree nuts, and tropical fruit,such
us coconuts. Though agriculture occupies one third of the total landmass, most
exported goods came from the manufacturing sector.
Even though trade has helped to develop the economy in the Philippines , The
country has also experienced some negative impacts of globalization; Pollution of
the lakes and rivers has become a serious topic of concern. Currently, manufactures
are openly dumping hazardous chemicals into laguna lake and the pasig river. An
article published by green peace states that 50 out of 421 rivers in the region are
considered biologically dead, meaning that rivers do not contain any oxygen and are
unable to support most species of life. The environmental management bureau
(EMB) Determined that only 47% out of the Philippines, 127 fresh water bodies
retain good water quality. Also 58% of groundwater reserves tested positive for
coliform contamination. Even the marilao river, which runs through the capital city,
Manila, was featured on soapboxie’s list of top 10 most polluted rivers in the world.
Sources of water in the Philippines suffer from a range of contaminants. Industrial
water waste chemical pollutants persist over long period of time and are often
referred to ass stock pollutants, but their origins from industrial sources also allow
them to be characterized as point-source pollution. Other harmful wastes, such as
decayed plants, livestock manure, dead animals, soil runoff and residue, are organic
wastes that have contributed to the Philippine’s pollution problem. Because they do
not originate from industrial sources, these specific pollutants are commonly called
non-point source pollution. Other pollutants , which exacerbate the Philippine’s
water crisis are accidental oil and chemical spills and illegal dumping of waste. The
presence of these pollution has deeply implicated the daily lives of Filipinos .

As time passes, the health of the Filipino people continues to suffer. Within a five-
year span, exposure to waterborne contaminants were the cause of approximately
one third of illnesses in the Philippines. An abundance of waterborne viruses and
bacteria in drinking water leads to contraction of afflictions such as diarrhea ,
cholera, and various skin diseases. People, as as other animals, also experience the
buildup of toxins over time within the fatty tissue of bodies. Known as
bioaccumulation. In urban with inadequate sewage systems, cancer mortality rates
are high. Aside from impacts on public health, water pollution also causes
irreversible damage to the environment. A common problem is euhtophication,
which occurs when organic materials deposited within the water deplete the oxygen
available , causing anaerobic algae blooms. Ohter pollutants stimulate the
consumption of oxygen. Which creates stress on specific organisms, while decreasing
the overall ability to survive. The lack of oxygen available within the lakes, rivers,
ponds and streams causes river-dwelling creatures, such as fish to decrease and
species who rely on streams to become endangered. Pollutants can also change the
physical properties of water itself. Certain pollutants shift PH of the water, which
causes many plants and animals to die because they are unable to adopt to the new
PH Balance. Large amounts of water pollution have caused an overall depreciation of
public health in the Philippines. Poor health reduces labor efficiency while
simultaneously decreasing life expectancy, thus creating a health- induced poverty
trap.
CONCLUSION

Though all policy options have their own specific drawbacks, the most practical
solution is to limit government involvement and leave the majority of the
responsibility to international such as Greenpeace, earthfirst! Or the World Business
council for sustainable development. The filipino government has already provided
limited assistance in reducing the water pollution crisis. They should make an effort
to provide grants to the international organizations that promote environmentally-
conscious practices but specify that the grants are to be used for educational
resources for the Filipino people. Currently , the government does not have the
resources to change all water sewage systems or provide economic incentives, but
promoting transparency and education may save millions of lives . leaders in
government should approach theses organization with idea for them to lead the
reforms with supplementary government funding.

Meetings should be held to discuss scheduling, progress, and so forth. This will instill
trust between the entities involved, while publishing the meeting minutes will
promote transparency . it is likely that this process will yield the desired results.
Through these actions, people will learn how they can access clean drinking water
close to their homes and how their action may be impacting the water conditions.
Citizen will learn how improper practices on their small farms or in their homes have
contributed to the poor water quality.

REFERENCES
Agenor, Pierre-richard. Public Capital , health Persistence and poverty traps. Journal
of economics 115.2 (2015): 103-131

“Asia Pacific information platform on agricultural policy” republic act no. 9275 : the
Philippine clean water act of 2004 . hhtps://ap.ffte.agnet.org/ap_db.php?id
=281
EVANS D. “ the formation of a rive-bassin authority through local participation : a
case study from SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES “ water and environment journal 18.1
(2004) 36-38