(SPOT.ph) Following the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' plan for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay, the Manila Zoo was ordered closed by Mayor Joseph Estrada after being tagged as one of the "major pollutants" of the bay. It was reportedly draining untreated sewage into one of the estuaries leading to the bay, so it's been shut down until water and sewerage treatment facilities are installed.
The Department of Engineering and Public Works recommended the shutdown to "give way for proper assessment and study."Â Â It was ordered closed by Estrada in a memorandum released on January 21, where he also ordered concerned departments to submit a program of work for the construction of the needed treatment facilities.
The Manila Zoo, located about 400 meters away from the bay's shoreline, will be closed to public but will remain in operation for the animals that live there. It was built in 1959, when sewage treatment plants were not yet required.
