(Eagle News) — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has started its beautification project of Manila Bay by covering its shoreline with crushed dolomite rocks from Cebu.
The department clarified earlier that they are using crushed dolomite boulders from Cebu, and not white sand.
DENR Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns Benny Antiporda said that transporting sand from the country’s coastlines is prohibited.
He did not however say if all of Manila Bay’s shoreline will be filled with crushed dolomite rocks. THe bay shoreline measures some 190 kilometers.
The department is also intesifying efforts to clean up the Bay area, and to reduce the water’s coliform level.
Phase 1 of the Manila Bay rehabilitation include the bay clean-up and the improvement of its water quality.
This includes the cleanup of designated esteros and waterways; the reduction of fecal coliform level and toxic discharges from houses and establishments; inspection and repair of leaks in old sewer lines; provision of temporary sanitation facilities to informal settlers residing along esteros and shorelines pending relocation; and implementing a solid waste management system.
Phase 2 includes the rehabilitation of old sewer lines in Metro Manila, and the relocation of informal settlers.
Only 15% (2.4M/16.3M) of the water-served population in the Metro Manila are connected to a sewerage system and about 3.84% (187,000/4,863,938) of water served population outside the National Capital Regionn are provided with sanitation services.
The DENR said that almost 233,000 informal settler families (ISFs) are residing along the waterways of the Manila Bay area, directly discharging their wastes to the water.
The Manila Bay area covers eight (8) provinces and 178 local government units in three regions of the country, namely: National Capital Region (NCR), Region III, and Region IV-A. Of the eight provinces, four are coastal (Bataan, Bulacan, Cavite and Pampanga); four are non-coastal (Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Rizal and Tarlac), according to the DENR.
(Eagle News Service)
