The dolomite beach in Manila Bay is still intact.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu gave this assurance to the public Monday, July 26 following days worth of heavy rains that allegedly caused the white-colored dolomite sand to be flushed into the bay.
"The assures the public that after the assessment of the beach nourishment project in Manila Bay this morning (Monday), the dolomite area as well as the geotubes and geotextiles installed as geo interventions for the project are all intact," Cimatu said in a statement.
"The dolomite sand has not been washed out and the dolomite pebbles were only pushed to the perimeter of the beach area," he added.
Metro Manila was battered by rains resulting from the southwest monsoon over the weekend. Then, pictures and videos of the garbage-littered shoreline of Manila Bay began to pop up in social media.
This caused worries as to the state of the controversial dolomite beach, which is a key facet of the P389-million Manila Bay Rehabilitation Progam.
"While the normal high tide level is 1.3 meters, it rose to 1.5 to 1.6 meters because of the southwest monsoon that started last week and into the weekend," noted Cimatu.
"As a result, a huge amount of trash was swept by the waves which accumulated in the area. These were traced to have come from the Pasig River and Cavite and from all the tributaries that flow to the bay," he said.
He did that plastic cups, wrappers, and styropor were among the trash collected from the shoreline. A huge number of bamboo poles from fish pens, fish cages, and baklads/sapras were also washed ashore.
"In view of this, I have ordered Region 4A Executive Director Nilo Tamoria to conduct an inventory of all the fish pens, fish cages, baklads/sapras in Cavite, and to identify those with permits to operate. Legitimate operators will be required to repair their damaged fish pens and cages. On the other hand, those with no permits will be immediately demolished," Cimatu said.
"Even prior to the start of the habagat or southwest monsoon, I have already directed the Regional Executive Directors of the National Capital Region, and Regions 3 and 4A to strictly implement proper solid waste management especially in their areas of jurisdiction," he added.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) carried out a cleanup operation at the bay on Monday morning.