By Amiel Antonio
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and volunteers from different organizations gather for the cleanup of Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach on Saturday, September 17, 2022, in connection with International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day 2022. Photo courtesy of PCG
In celebration of International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day 2022, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) led a coastal cleanup drive at the controversial Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach on September 17.
With the theme “Fighting for Trash-Free Seas Pilipinas: Ending the Flow of Trash at the Source,” the event was attended by over 4,000 volunteers from government, private organizations, and private individuals collecting at least 4,500 sacks of garbage.
According to Rodelina de Villa, the DENR-Metropolitan Environmental Office (MEO) West OIC Director, the yielded trash consisted mostly of plastic wastes, dried water hyacinth, and marine debris.
She added that 3,000 of 4,500 sacks were donated by the DENR Central Office while 1,500 came from the DENR-National Capital Region, which includes the DENR-MEO West.
Additional trash bags were provided by participating national and local agencies including the Manila City government, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine National Police (PNP), PNP-Maritime Group, and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Manila Mayor Sheila “Honey” Lacuna, joined by the Manila Police, was spotted collecting trash at Baseco Beach at Manila’s port area.
Other companies and groups namely Maynilad Water Services Inc., Manila Water Company Inc., and the Dragon Boat Federation of the Philippines also took part in the event.
De Villa said that the Manila Baywalk reflects the collaboration among all sectors that is necessary to address coastal litter.
“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,” she said.
DENR Environmental Warriors help collect trash in Manila Bay cleanup. Photo courtesy of DENR
Tasked to oversee the maintenance of the 500-meter beach walk, DENR-MEO-West showed data that 147,939 sacks of solid waste had been collected in cleanup drives from July 12 to September 14. In addition, a total of 83,109 sacks of water hyacinth were also accumulated including 2,224 sacks of marine debris.
The said event, which is held annually every third Saturday of September, is one of DENR’s eight cleanup activities in Metro Manila.
While it was praised by netizens online, the said project still received criticisms from various environmental groups.
The national coordinator of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment Jon Bonifacio said, “Cleanup drives like this risk just being photo opportunities for our public officials.”
Von Hernandez, global coordinator of the group Break Free From Plastic said that the government “can’t be spending millions of resources yearly without effectively addressing the roots of the problem.”
“It’s better investment for the government to [just] compel producers and companies to reduce and stop the production of single-use plastics and invest in proven reusable and… refill[ing] systems,” Hernandez added.
It can be remembered that the Dolomite Beach project of DENR stirred controversy in 2020 during the surge of COVID-19 pandemic as the previous administration of then President Rodrigo Duterte touted it as a way to ease the mental health of Filipinos amid the lockdowns.
A MISPLACED PRIORITY
The Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program was launched in 2019 under DENR. In 2020, during the rehabilitation, many Filipinos criticized the Dolomite Beach project.
Backhoes excavate and prepare dolomite sands for rehabilitating Manila Bay on September 2020. Photo by Jansen Romero /Manila Bulletin
Former Vice President Leni Robredo questioned the funds used in the controversial project.
On her radio program aired on September 6, 2020, she said that the funds used for the rehabilitation program could have been better allocated to the national government’s response to the pandemic.
The said project’s cost was a hefty P389 million.
“Halimbawa na lang, iyong mga mananahi namin, noong binisita namin, kaunti lang naman iyong kita nila per PPE na tinatahi nila, pero nagpapasalamat silang grabe kasi sabi nila, ‘May pangkain na po kami, may pangbili na ng gamot’,” Robredo said.
(For instance, when we visited our tailors, they only earned a little per PPE they sewed, but they were very grateful because they said, ‘We have food to eat, medicine to buy.’)
“Iyong iba naman na binisita namin, ‘Noong wala pa po itong PPE, umaasa lang kami sa tulong ng barangay’. Tapos makikita iyong ganito [Dolomite Beach]. Parang napaka-insensitive sa kahirapan ng tao,” she added.
(As for the others we visited, ‘When there was no PPE, we only relied on the help of barangay.’ Then you will see this [Dolomite Beach]. It seems very insensitive to people’s poverty.)
Residents queue wearing their facemasks while waiting for their turns to get their ‘ayuda.’ Photo from Ezra Acayan / Getty Images
Years later, the controversial man-made beach is still stirring criticisms on the internet.
Photographs of the Manila Baywalk Dolomite beach covered with piles of garbage grabbed the attention of some netizens online.
They expressed their disappointment over the misused budget allocated to the project.
“Sayang ang pera sa ginastos na dolomite,” one user said.
(Waste of money spent on dolomite.)
Another social media user commented, “This only means that dolomite beach is such a waste of money. Definitely not the best solution to clean Manila Bay. It was all artificial. It was never a solution.”
DOLOMITE BEACH A THREAT IN MANILA BAY
After it was opened to the public, the controversial beach required regular maintenance to preserve its artificial beauty.
Commuters wade through the flooded streets in Manila after a heavy downpour on July 16, 2022. Photo from Miguel de Guzman / Philippine Star
Following the flooding in some areas of Manila earlier this year, an environmental organization emphasized the perils of dump-and-fill projects such as the Dolomite Beach.
A report cited the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) saying that it was the beach that caused the flood. However, MMDA acting general Baltazar Melgar pointed out another cause of the flooding.
In an interview, he clarified that the flooding was caused by unfinished construction of pumping stations and pipelines near the bay.
“Dolomite Beach has no connection to the recent flooding in the area,” Melgar said.
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But Oceana, the largest international advocacy organization focusing on ocean conservation, said that in the long run the beach would still cause flooding and other natural hazards.
Dump-and-fill activities would aggravate the Manila Bay’s vulnerability to environmental hazards and extreme weather events, according to Oceana.
Environmental threats of reclamation projects, especially those that are illegal, paired with climate change getting worse would also cause the following:
Increased rainfall year-round by 2050, which would lead to worsened flooding.
More frequent super typhoons resulting in storm surges in coastal areas.
Rising sea levels worsening land subsidence causing rapid sinking of the land (land subsidence).
Graphic by Ed Lustan / Inquirer
“According to experts, Manila Bay is also not safe for reclamation and similar coastal development activities due to the existence of many natural hazards, such as land subsidence (sinking), flooding, and storm surges brought about by stronger typhoons,” said Attorney Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio, legal and policy director of Oceana.
“We cannot ignore the fact that reclaiming our coastlines in Manila Bay is like putting a plug on a bathtub full of water and closing the natural outflow of water towards the bay,” she added.
Over 30 million people living in and around Manila Bay could be endangered due to the impacts of illegal dump-and-fill projects including the marine biodiversity.
BAND-AID SOLUTION
According to the geologists of Mines and Geosciences Bureau, most beaches in the Philippines are prone to erosion changing the shape and position of coasts. Beach nourishment is a preferred solution to protect the beaches from coastal erosion.
Beach nourishment or beach replenishment is the practice of adding sand or sediment to beaches to increase beach width and fight erosion.
However, it does not stop the erosion— it only prevents erosion for a short period of time.
Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, vice president of Oceana Philippines said that dumping fake white sands on the bay is nothing but a “band-aid” solution to the problem.
“We wish the government would be responsive to the needs of our time,” she said
The dolomite dumped in the area from September to December 2020 had already been reclaimed by the sea, according to Oceana.
In December 2020 to February 2021, the controversial beach had eroded by at least 300 square meters.
Ramos pointed out that dumping dolomite sand on the bay will not help solve the root-cause of its environmental problem which is the poor quality of water.
Instead, she proposed these:
Reduce organic and plastic pollution
Install water treatment facilities
Ban mangrove-cutting
Rehabilitate degraded areas
Volunteers plant mangroves in Lian, Batangas. Photo from Toyota Newsroom
Furthermore, scientists from University of the Philippines (UP) pushed for the planting of mangroves in the coastal area of Manila Bay to help solve its environmental problems.
They disapproved of the dolomite project and insisted on helping the DENR to implement a science-based rehabilitation program for the recovery of biological functions of the bay.
“The dumping of dolomite sand on a reclaimed part of Manila Bay is not the best way of spending government money. The fund should have been directed to more viable, scientifically sound projects that can restore Manila Bay to a state that is fit for recreation,” the UP Institute of Biology said.
“To be successful, the rehabilitation program needs to demonstrate a grasp of land-sea connectivity as well as possible immediate, short-term, and long-term impacts at species, ecosystem, and seascape scales. Its core must be the strategic protection and conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity providing the ecosystem services: the very reason why we need to rehabilitate Manila Bay,” the Institute added.
Even on social media, the proposal earned support from online users saying that nature-based solutions would be better than artificial ones.
“Mangroves have the natural capability to protect coastal and low-lying communities from floods and storm surges. They filter the water too, making it more habitable for marine life. I’m still pissed our taxes are paying for that dolomite bullshit,” a user said.
After the celebration of ICC Day 2022, the DENR recommended a temporary closure of the Dolomite Beach in order for the workers to clean its areas further.
KEYWORDS:
International Coastal Cleanup Day
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Manila Baywalk
Dolomite Beach
Fighting for Trash-Free Seas Pilipinas: Ending the Flow of Trash at the Source,
Volunteers
4,500 sacks of garbage
Cleanup drive
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