‘New’ Manila Bay to attract tourists, investors: Isko

Manila Bay rehabilitation (Photo by DENR Dir. Tuchie Gaddie via PNA)

MANILA – Manila Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso on Thursday thanked the national government for the rehabilitation and beautification of the Manila Bay shoreline, saying it will attract more tourists and investors and will create more jobs for the people.

“Maganda yun kasi urban eh, highly urbanized tapos bigla kang me beach (that is very nice because it’s a highly urbanized city then you have a beach) that’s a good attraction for the city, the business, employment and the people as habitants of the city,” Domagoso said in an interview over ANC on Thursday.

Domagoso said the “beach nourishment” project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in a portion of Manila Bay’s shoreline is a welcome development.

“If a year or two or five from now, our next generation will experience what our lolos and lolas (grandparents) experienced in the heyday, times of Manila when the Manila Bay is clean and there is a beach in the area, siguro yun ang regalo natin sa next generation (that could be our gift to the next generation),” he said.

He said this is not the first time that crushed dolomites are being used for shoreline beautification, citing the Monte Carlo, Monaco in Europe, the Plantation Bay Resort in Cebu, and several other big hotels that used dolomites for their man-made beaches.

To protect the crushed dolomites from being washed out, Domagoso said DENR has applied engineering mechanisms.

However, he said the city government of Manila will file charges if the rehabilitation of Manila Bay is proven to have violated environmental laws.

He added that Manila is willing to spend money in the future to help preserve the rehabilitated Manila Bay.

At present, Domagoso said the city government has been spending big chunk of its budget for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) response.

He called on other local government units (LGUs) around Manila Bay to join the government’s Manila Bay rehabilitation efforts by keeping their part of the bay clean.

Domagoso asked the DENR to place a water quality monitoring machine in the area to ensure that the famous Manila Bay is clean.