A Washington-based study found that 86% of schools in Metro Manila lie within five kilometers of documented contaminated sites. The national average across the Philippines stands far lower at 8.9%. Researchers noted that the pattern reflects an urban concentration of large schools.
The Center for Global Development released the study in June. It matched data on 2.6 million schools across 17 countries against 11,301 toxic sites. In the Philippines, 1,432 of 16,022 schools and 2.5 million students fall within the five-kilometer radius.
The report described proximity to such sites as overwhelmingly an urban phenomenon. Metro Manila’s rate ranked among the highest, behind only Delhi at 91.2% while exceeding Nairobi, Greater Accra, Bogota and Jakarta.
Wealth gaps also appeared. Students in the richest neighborhood quintile showed a 53.7% rate compared with 1.8% for the poorest. Lead author Lee Crawfurd stated that the study measures proximity rather than actual exposure or health effects and urged further environmental checks.
