A Visit to the San Juan River 

As one of our main group activities in class, we were asked to visit and assess one polluted river in Metro Manila. After our brief search for possible places to go to, we finally decided on evaluating the San Juan River. In selecting this body of water, we made sure that it would be at a fair distance from the homes of every member of our group. This river actually stretches out into different cities encompassing the landscape of a larger area than we had initially imagined. Through our several consultation with sir O, we decided to limit our assessment to a particular stretch of the river that was easily accessible to us. The area now being investigated was the part of San Juan River very close to that of the Tullahan River.

Going to the site that we have decided to visit, I thought that it was going to be a short ride. I was lucky enough to have group mates who had their navigation skills in check because if I came there on my own, I definitely would have ended up at the wrong river. As we went down the jeepney, I was actually expecting the stench that should have emanated from what I assumed to be a polluted river below the highway from which we stopped. To my surprise, there was no whiff of a foul origin. From the bridge connecting the highway, we found a passageway at the side where many informal settlers lived. As we entered the area, the number of families living under the bridge shocked me. We asked permission for passage and it was as if they were at awe that we were actually asking for such consent. After that we found a way to be more close to the periphery of the river that, as I could see from afar, had an abundance of black tar-like residue.

It was an adventure going down to the sides of the river. We descended from the concrete wall from which the makeshift houses of the informal dwellers sat. When we finally reached the river itself, my foot practically settled a few millimeters into the soft ground. We filled out our survey forms then and there and casually talked to the children who were playing at the side.

After our small trip, we have learned invaluable lessons that could not have been taught nor realized inside the bounds of the university. We came to understand that there are people, our people, who are living in such conditions. Numerous assumptions can be made as to why some of our countrymen remain to exist in such circumstances, but it is a reality that we cannot fully judge. We may not entirely comprehend the whole story of why they came to live in the area or as to why they are still there, but the fact that these situations exist is something that should give us enough encouragement to pursue our careers and later on help in the uplifting the state of our brethren.