MANILA – An official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has clarified that the white sand in the Manila Bay beach area along Roxas Boulevard is “not white sand but crushed dolomite boulders.”
DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said Thursday the crushed dolomite boulders came in from Cebu and were already crushed before bringing them to Manila.
Antiporda said the sand would be overlaid on the beach area of Manila Bay, famed worldwide for its beautiful sunset.
“This will serve as a campaign for the people to tell them that it’s about time we take care of our environment and maintain cleanliness, because, as DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu believes, the current pandemic is connected to our being neglectful (of) our environment,” he said in a video message.
Antiporda said the department and the Manila Bay Task Force are on Phase 1 of the Manila Bay beach nourishment project.
The overlaying of sand, he said, would be completed before September 19 when heads of various government agencies, led by Cimatu, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, would visit and inspect the area.
Some groups are questioning the overlaying of sand on Manila Bay’s shores, saying the project is focusing on aesthetics and little contribution to rehabilitation and restoration.
Antiporda assured that engineering interventions are being done to ensure that the bay’s beautification would not be put to waste.
“Meron tayong mga engineering intervention na gagawin diyan para masigurong ma-preserve ito at ma-sustain natin itong tinatawag na napakagandang Manila Bay (Some engineering interventions will be done in the area to make sure that the beauty of Manila Bay would be preserved and maintained),” Antiporda said.
The department, he said, is making sure that Manila Bay would become viable for swimming, so that those who do not have the opportunity to go to the country’s finest beaches, such as Boracay and Palawan’s El Nido, can do so in Manila.
Antiporda said the water quality at the Manila Bay still does not pass the “clean” level and the department targets to achieve about 200 MCL (maximum contaminant level) or less by December.
Once the Manila Bay area is reopened to the public by the end of the year, rules would be set, such as no eating or drinking by the beachfront, he said, adding that single-use plastics would be banned.
Security will be tight and the putting up of structures, tents, or umbrellas would not be allowed.
“Basta purely pasyal lang. Lakad kayo sa white(-sand) beach. Ganyan ang mangyayari pag nabuksan na yan para sa publiko (It would be purely for strolling by the white-sand beach. That’s what would happen once it is opened to the public),” Antiporda said.