By Shiela Mae Talusan
October 7 2022
Clean up operation of dolomite beach in Manila Bay after a typhoon. Photo by Jonathan Cellona.
In September 17, a massive amount of 4,500 sacks of coastal litters were recovered from the controversial 500-meters dolomite beach in Manila Bay. With the forefront of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), over 4,000 volunteers including other sectors took part in the clean up operation in celebration of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day for the year 2022.
DENR-Metropolitan Environmental Office (MEO) West OIC Director Rodelina de Villa stated that the garbage collected are mostly consisted of plastic wastes, dried water hyacinth, and marine debris.
The DENR annually held eight cleaning up events, such as this, every third Saturday of September as per observance of the ICC Day. One of the eight activities took place in the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach anchoring to the theme of “Fighting for Trash Free Seas-Pilipinas: Ending the Flow of Trash at the Source” where volunteers from private and public sectors shows their collaboration in reflection on how necessary it is to address the problem about improper wastes disposals specifically in the coastal area.
The Philippine Coast Guard participates in the celebration of International Coastal Cleanup 2022. Photo by PCG.
In accordance from the words of de Villa, all the volunteers that came to the baywalk’s coastline carry and presented their own garbage bags. There are 4,500 totals of sacks— 3,000 were provided by the DENR Central Office by the Manila Bay Coordinating Office (MBCO) while the remaining 1,500 trash bags are from the DENR-National Capital Region with the inclusion of the DENR-MEO West. Additional trash bags were credited from the participating national and local government agencies as well as private organizations such as the Manila City Government, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine National Police (PNP), PNP-Maritime Group, and Philippine Coast Guard. Also, Maynilad Water Services Inc., Manila Water Company Inc., and the Dragon Boat Federation of the Philippines participated in the clean up event.
Based on the final data of the DENR-MEO West— during the period amount of time that occur from July 12 to September 14— a sum up of 147, 939 sacks of solid wastes have been collected in the clean up activity while another 83, 109 sacks of water hyacinth and 2, 224 sacks of marine debris were gathered in addition.
The multi-million funded artificial white sand project now known as the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach that can be located along Roxas Boulevard requires regular maintenance as it is prone to filth approaching the shore as soon as it was officially opened to the public eye this time of the year in 2020. And this is only one of the many problems addressing to the project. It is a controversy that evolves mostly around criticism. Not to mention the first announcement of the idea of crushed dolomite delivered from Cebu province to Manila and the amount of budget given to this.
Even Diuvs de Jesus— marine scientist of Oceana Philippines, shows his dismay as he visited to the bay to personally see the situation. “Spending millions for the dolomite beach in the disguise of ‘cleanup’ when other parts of Manila Bay’s mangroves and mudflats are threatened by plastic pollution and reclamation?” he said in an interview to referring to the beach only hides the severity of the problem in an interview.
Moreover, Mae Chatto— campaign specialist, also from Oceana Philippines, claims that the DENR does not address the real problem by the creation of the dolomite beach. Given to this as an example is the plastic pollution. She also mentioned that rehabilitating the Manila Bay is only a “cosmetic solution” for the real problem lays below the beach. Furthermore, the Ecowaste Coalition proven a point through their research resulting to the findings that the estimated pieces of plastic waste in Manila Bay is 9.46 billion resulting to 4.7 million per square kilometers.
Washed ashore wastes, pieces of woods and marine debris collected by the volunteers. Photo by Isa Avendano-Umali/DZBB
Once again, the dolomite beach is facing the same situation it was in not too long ago. In view of the fact that while the clean up campaign seems to be huge success, some critics are still calling it out for simply just whitewashing. That behind all the piles of garbage lays the real problem— the permanent ecological damages.
However, despite all of this de Villa remained true to her words regarding the clean up campaign by saying: “However big and daunting the task is, we can make a difference by bringing communities and people together to clean up beaches. Proof of this are organizations and individuals coming together at the Baywalk Dolomite Beach,” said by de Villa.
In 2019, after the triumph of Boracay Island’s closure for rehabilitation, the next thing that the DENR wanted to be seen as cleaner and healthier is the Manila Bay. A rehabilitation program for the Manila Bay was conducted in January 27, 2019 headed by DENR Sec. Roy A Cimatu with the hopes of successfully replicating the success achieved for the Boracay Island. But that was 3 years ago. What happens now?
Keywords:
- 4,500 sacks
- Dolomite Beach
- Manila Bay
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
- Clean up operation
- International Coastal Cleanup or ICC Day
- Garbages
- Wastes
- Boracay
Comments