MARILAO, Bulacan -- Officials here said on Tuesday they were dismayed at the town’s inclusion in a list of the 30 most polluted places in the developing world drawn up by the New York-based Blacksmith Institute.Marilao Mayor Epifanio Guillermo said industries based in nearby Metro Manila and garbage thrown by residents of the metropolis contributed to the degradation of the rivers of this town and the nearby City of Meycauayan. Guillermo cited a case of chemical waste dumping by a Valenzuela City-based firm into an irrigation canal here in December 2006. Marilao and Meycauayan were the only areas in Southeast Asia included in the "Dirty 30" list. In its report, “The World’s Worst Polluted Places” for 2007, the Blacksmith Institute said: “Industrial waste is haphazardly dumped into the Marilao, Meycauayan, and Obando River system, a source of drinking and agricultural water supplies for the 250,000 people living in and around” the Meycauayan-Marilao area. "The river system is extremely polluted due to wastes received from tanneries, gold and precious metals refineries, the largest lead smelter in the Philippines, and numerous municipal dumpsites," the report said. Guillermo said he was "mad" and "felt bad and ashamed" at what he saw the portrayal of the people of Marilao as "dirty" when, he said, they could not be blamed for the pollution of the town's rivers. He said Valenzuela and Caloocan cities in Metro Manila, and Meycauayan were the sources of pollution of Marilao's waterways. "Drastic naman iyan. Yung Tullahan River sa Valenzuela, walang panama ang ilog na ito doon, bakit di nila iyun nireport. Nalulungkot at naiinis din kami, handa ako mag-resign kung sino man makakalinis niyan [The report was drastic. The condition of the Tullahan River in Valenzuela is worse and they did not report that. We are sad and angry about it. I would resign if any person or group would succeed in cleaning our river]," he said. But Guillermo said he was also thankful that the report was publicized because it would serve as a wake-up call for residents and officials here. He said Caloocan's waste, dumped in a river in Barangay Bagong Silang near their town, caused the pollution of their river. "During high tide, these wastes are washed down to the river. What can we do? How can we control that?" he said. Governor Joselito Mendoza said they are aware of the problem and are seeking United States government assistance to fund the rehabilitation of the river system of Marilao and Meycauayan. "We will include the cleaning of those rivers in our Save the Angat River project," Mendoza said. Meycauayan Mayor Joan Alarilla could not be reached for comment. A member of the mayor’s staff, who answered her mobile phone, said Alarilla and her husband, former mayor Eduardo Alarilla, were out of town. Bulacan Representative Reylina Nicolas said she would ask the help of Environment Secretary Jose “Lito” Atienza to address the problem. Nicolas said the Meycauayan and Marilao rivers have long been declared "biologically dead" because of the pollution caused by tanneries, outside industries and chemical waste dumping. "The tanneries are situated along the rivers of Meycauayan but [pollution comes] more from the chemical wastes of industries outside Bulacan, which largely contributed to the death of these rivers," she said. | 
