NEWSFLASH

CLEAN, GREEN AND SUCCESSFUL MARIKINA

Marikina City, Dec. 13, 2001 - The Marikina River is living proof that there is hope.

It used to be a stinking cesspool of industrial and domestic wastes. Its waters turned fetid and pitch black from pollutants dumped in by factories and squatter colonies lining the river banks. Years of erosion brought about by wanton quarrying choked the river further to near death.

Today, the Marikina River is an environmental showpiece which has earned for the city 59 awards and citations. These include a Hall of Fame Award as Cleanest Inland Body of Water in 1996. It also won 2nd Place as Cleanest Inland Body of Water in the Philippines in 1995. In the same year, the RiverPark Rehabilitation Project was also accorded the Gawad Galing Pook for Innovation and Excellence in Local Governance in 1995.

The rehabilitation of the river was started in 1993 through the initiative of then Mayor Bayani Fernando, who knew that it had to be done and once completed would be the catalyst to solving Marikina's other worsening urban problems.

To rehabilitate the river, some 2,300 squatter families had to be relocated from the river banks. Dredging was started to remove all the silt that had accumulated for decades, followed by the construction of access roads and jogging lanes. As initial landmarks, the city built the Chinese Pagoda (in honor of the Chinese mestizos who made great contributions to Marikina's trade and industry) and the Roman Garden believed to be the spot where an icon of Jesus was found when the Jesuits first came to the valley in 1630.

With the transformation of the river came the Marikenos renewed sense of pride. With new investments came new jobs, boosting their confidence to undertake big projects with minimum funding. Discipline was instilled in both young and old to keep their surroundings clean. Within a short period, Marikina had become a conducive place for industry, business and residence.

Visitors are often impressed with what they see in Marikina these days. Once past the traffic-prone junction at Marcos Highway, one can't help but notice the city's garbage-free streets. In fact, they have no need for trash cans in public areas.

Mayor Lourdes C. Fernando, who takes the reins from her husband after his third term, says, that while neighboring cities are still struggling with their garbage problems, Marikina has long tackled its own.

Tree-lined roads are well-planned and lit at night and even without a color-coding scheme, traffic is practically nil. MCF says, this is because the vendors are strictly banned from the sidewalks so pedestrians need not compete for space with motor vehicles on the main streets. A far cry from everyday sights around Manila and Quezon city.

Marikina's City Hall is like a well-oiled ship with well-designed offices and work areas. Services are all self-contained which explains why its 200 workforce has been increased to 2000, thus eliminating the need for expensive contractual work such as road construction. Integral to its organized operations are the employees who take pride even in the simplest act of wearing their naval-inspired uniforms and badges which they proudly state instills in them the city's core values of discipline, good taste and excellence.

Marikina citizens boast having one of the cleanest public markets in the metropolis. They have free access to health services, parks and playgrounds and a modern sports complex. In an effort to elevate its level of literacy, discourage truancy and solve the problem of street children, public elementary and high school education are free.

Marikina is probably the only city wherein a public service hotline actually works. Dubbed Rescue 161, one only has to dial 161 at any hour and a team of paramedics, policemen and firemen will arrive in less than 5 minutes. Place a call to a designated number and a midnight doctor will come to the door. Needless to say, garbage trucks pick up the trash like clockwork. (Sandy Diez, Malaya)