Estero de San Miguel — Manila's Phytoremediation-Led Waterway Rehabilitation

Manila's esteros — the city's historic tidal waterway network — became heavily polluted urban drains lined with informal settlements over the 20th century. DENR and city agencies have since targeted at least 20 of the dirtiest esteros for rehabilitation under a joint DENR–MPIC accord.
On the 2.3 km Estero de San Miguel, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission spent approximately ₱52 million (roughly US$1 million) on dredging, relocated more than 100 riverside families, and installed floating islands of vetiver grass and ornamental vegetation for phytoremediation — using plants to filter sediment and absorb heavy metals — alongside new linear parks along the banks.
DENR-NCR named Estero de San Miguel Metro Manila's "Most Improved Estero" at the 2nd Gawad Taga-Ilog awards (2021–2022), citing visible before-and-after improvements in water clarity after decades during which the waterway was covered in floating trash.
An independent academic assessment of Manila's esteros network (covering landscape change from 2019–2024) found mixed results system-wide: riverside green patches increased and fragmentation decreased in rehabilitated stretches, but other esteros in the same network, such as Estero de Vitas, remain largely neglected. Analysts and local reporting attribute the gap to short-term programme targets rather than sustained maintenance funding — a caution worth weighing against the San Miguel result.

Read the full analysis: https://ncr.denr.gov.ph/news-events/estero-de-san-miguel-city-of-manila-wins-gawad-taga-ilog-most-improved-estero-title-2021-2022/