The Department of the Interior and Local Government – National Capital Region (DILG-NCR), through the Manila Bay Cleanup Conservation, Rehabilitation and Preservation Program – Project Management Team (MBCRPP-PMT), successfully conducted the Technical Forum on Water Delineation of Coastal Local Government Units (LGUs) within the National Capital Region (NCR) on August 6, 2025, at The Heritage Hotel Manila, Pasay City.

The forum discussed the long-standing challenge of municipal water boundary concern among NCR’s coastal LGUs, Pasay, Navotas, Manila, and Parañaque. It also served as a vital platform for open dialogue and provided an avenue for initial steps and to possibly explore locally agreed-upon solutions and ways forward while identifying approaches aligned with existing national and local policies and laws.

The event brought together representatives from the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources – NCR (DENR-NCR), Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – NCR (DA-BFAR-NCR), and the DILG Manila Bay Clean-Up, Rehabilitation, and Preservation Program – Project Management Office (MBCRPP-PMO). Their technical expertise and institutional mandates provided clarity, reinforced policy guidance, and ensured that the discussions were anchored on both science and law.

In her opening remarks,  Local Government Monitoring and Evaluation Division (LGMED) Assistant Division Chief, Marda Alina R. Dumaoang-Acoba, welcomed the participants to the Technical Forum on Water Delineation of Coastal LGUs within the NCR, highlighting the importance of building shared understanding and collaborative solutions to long-standing municipal water boundary issues. She emphasized that clarity in jurisdiction is not only a technical matter but a governance concern that affects development planning, law enforcement, disaster response, and the livelihoods of coastal communities. As the Technical Forum concluded, the DILG-NCR reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to providing continuous support for the effective implementation and transparent governance of fisheries and coastal resource management within the coastal LGUs of the National Capital Region, through inter-agency and inter-LGU collaboration aimed at sustaining the Manila Bay.