You have done nothing for Manila Bay: DENR exec to Akbayan

FILE: A backhoe operator pours white sand near the shoreline of the Manila Bay on Thursday (September 10, 2020). (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan via Philippine News Agency/Facebook)

MANILA – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Thursday hit back at Akbayan after the group filed a motion urging the Supreme Court to cite the agency in contempt over the dumping of crushed dolomites along Manila Bay.

“Our message is, nasaan kayo nang kasalukuyang puno ng basura ang Roxas Boulevard at Manila Bay (Our message is, where were you when Roxas Boulevard in Manila Bay was full of trash and garbage)?’ DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said in a statement.

Long before current officials of the DENR were assigned in the agency, Antiporda said Akbayan has done nothing concrete in saving the degrading status of the bay, once known for its beauty and breathtaking sunsets.

“If they call the dolomite overlaying as ‘dumping’, what do we call the pile of garbage and silt that was recovered in that area? Can we call it ‘caring’ for Manila Bay?” Antiporda said.

Akbayan chair emeritus Etta Rosales urged the high court to cite DENR in contempt for dumping the controversial dolomite in the area.

The group is asking the SC to declare the action of the DENR as a direct violation of its continuing mandamus judgment and contemptuous to its lawful order.

Antiporda said Akbayan has “no moral ascendancy of dipping even their smallest finger in this issue because they came before us in this government and they have done nothing to come up with a concrete action to save Manila Bay”.