THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is hoping to make the “dolomite beach” a permanent attraction on Manila Bay.
Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said the artificial acreage constructed to the tune of more than P400 million in taxpayers’ money is being eyed as an additional come-on for visitors to the bay area to help revive commercial activities in Manila’s waterfront.
“Sakaling tuluyan na pong maglaho itong pandemyang ito eh muli hong magbabalik ‘yung sigla ng negosyo sa lugar na iyan. Kita naman po natin overwhelming po ‘yung pagtanggap ng tao dito po sa dolomite project (Once this pandemic is past, we hope to inject life into the business establishments in the Manila Bay area. The public response to the dolomite project has been encouraging),” he said.
Speaking at public briefing “Laging Handa,” Antiporda it was the call of Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to open the beach to the public even if the waters of the bay is still unfit for swimming due to high levels of bacteria that can make people sick.
Pollution in Manila Bay’s water comes from effluents and sewage carried by rivers and waterways emptying into the sea.
However, Antiporda said the DENR is closely monitoring the water quality to determine when it can be deemed safe for the public to dip in.
He said Cimatu is doing everything possible to make the water for swimming before the Duterte administration ends in June next year. He said the DNEr thinks it is achievable based on the significant drop in the fecal coliform level in the water.
The dolomite beach was constructed by dumping truckloads of crushed dolomite shipped by barges from quarry sites in Cebu province.
The government had to do several retouching of the surface after storm waters dumped tons of seaborne garbage in the area in the past months.
