MALOLOS, BULACAN- Four (4) Local Government Units (LGUs) in Bulacan were hailed as the recipients of the 2018 Manila BAYani Award under the Regional City and Municipal Categories. These LGUs are the City of San Jose Del Monte (2nd Placer- City Category); Baliwag (Top Performer- Municipal Category); DRT (2nd Placer- Municipal Category); and Plaridel (3rd Placer- Municipal Category).


On April 1, 2019, the Municipality of Baliwag, being the top performer in the Regional ECA, was awarded with a plaque of recognition and a cheque worth Php 200,000.00 which the LGU may utilize for their environment-related projects. In addition, the City of San Jose Del Monte and the Municipality of Plaridel was also awarded with plaques of recognition on June 4 and June 10, 2019, while the awarding for the Municipality of DRT was scheduled on a later date.
The Manila BAYanihan Award is an incentive given to highly compliant LGUs under the Environmental Compliance Audit (ECA), an annual assessment which aims to measure the level of compliance of LGUs to R.A. No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
The ECA is under the implementation of the Manila Bay Clean-Up, Rehabilitation and Preservation Program (MBCRPP), a program which aims to bring back the Manila Bay to its former glory through the implementation and monitoring of the following Outcome Areas: Liquid Waste Management, Solid Waste Management, Informal Settler Families, Biodiversity Management, and Institutional Arrangements.