By: Thomas Catindig - @TheCapitol News The Capitol Oct, 08, 2022
Volunteers and personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Manila Department of Public Services join a cleanup drive to clear the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach of garbage washed up by waves (Photo by Avito Dalan)
MANILA, Philppines - Volunteers from different private organizations and individuals gathered at the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach last September 17, as part of the Department of Natural Resources cleanup activities in celebration of the International Coastal Cleanup Day 2022.
Around 4,000 volunteers coming from different sectors and private organizations and private individuals, took part in the cleanup drive, which resulted in obtaining a total of 4,500 sacks of garbage.
In observance of the ICC Day which is held annually on the third Saturday of September, this event is one out of eight cleanup activities led by DENR with the theme of “Fighting for Trash Free Seas Pilipinas: Ending the Flow of Trash at the Source.”
According to DENR-Metropolitan Environmental Office (MEO) West OIC Director Rodelina de Villa, the collected garbage consisted mostly of plastic wastes, dried water hyacinths, and marine debris.
“Volunteers from government, private organizations, and private individuals came to the Baywalk’s coastline with their own garbage bags as well,” de Villa said.
She also stated that out of 4,500 sacks, 3,000 were donated by the DENR Central Office through the Manila Bay Coordinating Office (MBCO), while 1,500 trash bags came from the DENR-National Capital Region, which includes the DENR-MEO West.
Additional trash bags were also donated by participating national and local government agencies and private organizations, which include the Manila City government headed by Manila Mayor Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna–Pangan, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine National Police (PNP), PNP-Maritime Group, Department of Education (DepEd), and Philippine Coast Guard.
Also participating in this event are Maynilad Water Services Inc., Manila Water Company Inc., and the Dragon Boat Federation of the Philippines.
de Villa said that the Manila Baywalk is a reflection of the cooperation between all sectors needed to tackle the coastal litter problem through targeted beach cleanup activities. The assistance of communities and people together with different organizations and individuals is proof that no matter how big and daunting the task is, cleaning the beach can make a huge difference.
According to the data gathered by the DENR-MEO-West, which oversees the maintenance of the 500-meter beach walk, has shown that a total of 147,939 sacks of solid waste have been collected in cleanup activities held from July 12 to September 14.
The rehabilitation of Dolomite Beach started ever since its first re-opening to the public on June 12, 2022. The beach has undergone numerous closures and re-openings for it to be rehabilitated and accessible fully to the public.
It has also been hit by typhoons many times like Typhoon Pepito on October 2020 and Typhoon Ulysees in November 2020 but survived and left behind garbage and its sand turned black, but according to the DENR, it was 'washed in' by a storm surge.
A worker cleans up garbage at the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach caused by Typhoon Pepito on Oct 28, 2020 (Photo courtesy of Jansen Romero/MANILA BULLETIN)
The beach has been surrounded by criticism due to this beach being operated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many said it wasted public funds that should have been for the pandemic and also cites health risks.
DENR refutes those claims as it is stated in their Frequently Asked Questions section on their website saying that the project has been approved by Congress in 2019 and underwent competitive bidding under the Government Procurement Reform Act or Republic Act 9184.
The project has also been approved by the Department of Budget and Management and began its implementation in January 2020 under a signed memorandum agreement with The Department of Public Works and Highways.
For health reasons, the crushed dolomite used in the beach is not inhalable, as it measures about 2 to 5 millimeters in diameter, and materials that are 10 micrometers or smaller are inhalable.
This is further explained by the new Officer-in-chief Secretary Jim Sampluna that until there is a study saying it’s dangerous for health they will still continue using dolomite as a filter. He began to point out other countries that also use dolomite sands such as Long Beach in California and Sentosa in Singapore.
“So unless we find proof, I mean we can read or we find somebody (saying otherwise), hindi ‘yong dahil lang ayaw niyo doon sa project. I’ll tell you frankly, hindi kami maniniwala d’yan”, Sampluna said.
DENR defended its stance against its alleged overpricing with the original budget of PHP 390 million saying that the budget should be divided by at least 30,000 square meters. It means that PHP 12,967 is the price per square meter. Only 28 million was used to package the emplacement of the crushed dolomite rocks and the delivery of the sand from Cebu to Manila Bay.
Keywords:
Volunteers
Dolomite Beach
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
DENR
International Coastal Cleanup Day
ICC
cleanup drive
Manila City
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