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TO SAVE THE BAY A 500-meter stretch of the 190-kilometer shoreline of Manila Bay will be covered with sand derived from crushed dolomite in an attempt by the government to beautify the landscape and encourage the public to protect it. Environmental activists aren’t exactly happy. —RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines – After undergoing a major cleanup and losing much of its Technicolor trash last year, Manila Bay is getting a “white” makeover.
But environmentalists and fishermen groups are seeing red instead, questioning the latest project from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Mobilizing a fleet of bulldozers and other heavy equipment, DENR on Thursday began pouring “white sand” into a 500-meter stretch of the natural gray shoreline of the bay in Manila, near the Baywalk strip along Roxas Boulevard. .
The project is part of the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program launched by Secretary of the Environment Roy Cimatu in January 2019 to save the bay from decades of pollution and urban blight, as ordered by the Supreme Court.
“We will make the coast white sand so that when people see [it], [they will realize that] they need to take care of this and protect it, ”said Undersecretary of the Environment, Benny Antiporda, in a radio interview.
Really crushed rocks
But Antiporda later clarified that the “sand” was actually made from crushed rocks of dolomite, a carbonate of calcium and magnesium, which were transported to Manila from Cebu province.
He then explained that the transportation of sand is illegal under the Republic Law No. 7942 or the Philippine Mining Law of 1995.
Later, in an interview with the Inquirer on Thursday, Antiporda could not immediately say where the dolomite was sourced, saying this aspect of the project was handled by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Antiporda said the “beach nutrition” project cost around P349 million. A supplemental bulletin issued by DPWH showed a higher figure of P397.9 million for “beach nutrition, coastal restoration and enhancement of the Manila Baywalk area.”
DENR expects to complete the project by September 19, in time for International Coastal Cleanup Day.
Destructive
Critics were quick to point out how the DENR project could prove destructive not only in the bay but also in the Cebu area where the “sand” was obtained.
Sand mining could trigger coastal erosion and damage near-shore ecosystems, leaving coastal communities with less protection from storm surge and tsunamis.
Fishermen’s group Pamalakaya called on DENR for its “completely absurd and bombastic rehabilitation effort”, saying it would hardly solve “the bay’s environmental degradation problems.”
“The DENR does not have any concrete plan to restore the bay, [so] it resorts to… external beautification, which is actually a sham and artificial, rather than a genuine rehabilitation, ”said Pamalakaya president Fernando Hicap.
For a more effective and permanent solution, DENR should cultivate mangroves and seagrasses in the bay, he said.
“We demand transparency from DENR on all the details of the white sanding project; how much it cost and what granular materials were used. The white sand fill along the coast of Manila Bay is actually a cover-up for the government’s failure to rehabilitate Manila Bay, ”Hicap said.
In a television interview, Greenpeace Philippines activist Sonny Batungbacal warned that covering the shoreline of the bay with “synthetic” sand “would do nothing.”
Artificially supplied sand could easily be washed away by storm surges or high tides, Batungbacal added.
‘Unfair’
Antiporda said critics of the project were simply “taking advantage of the good deeds of our administration just to promote its relevance in a situation like this.”
“If we listen to Pamalakaya and Greenpeace, the chances of saving our bay would only be [be] Thin. The mandamus (order) of the Supreme Court for us to rehabilitate the bay has been delayed. Now that we are doing it, are they discrediting us? “he said.” I don’t think that’s fair to people who work hard. “
It was not the first time government officials had thought of giving Manila Bay a new look to mimic the world-famous beach on the island of Boracay.
The city government also considered a plan to bring in white sand during the term of the late Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim.
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