The Manila Zoo was closed ‘’until further notice’’ starting Wednesday after Manila City Mayor Joseph Estrada signed a memorandum for the facility's rehabilitation.

The 59-year-old zoo’s temporary closure took effect Wednesday following Estrada's order to install sewage treatment plants in the facility. This, after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) tagged the government-run facility as one of the major polluters of Manila Bay.

The city’s Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) and the Department of Public Services (DPS), who recommended the rehabilitation, are expected to implement programs for the installation of water treatment facilities or sewerage treatment plants for the zoo.

DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said in a phone interview with the Daily Manila Shimbun on Tuesday the zoo lacked sewage treatment plants and water treatment facilities which causes leakage in estuaries connected to Manila Bay.

"They can gather the animal wastes and compost it inside the zoo, they can also gather all the waste water into a pond and treat it there," he suggested.

Though Manila City's initiative to rehabilitate the zoo is in line with DENR's Manila Bay cleanup, Antiporda clarified they will not necessarily coordinate for the zoo's rehabilitation unless they discover more leakage. Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS