The government should not force the Manila Bay to look like a white sand beach by dumping Dolomite sands and spending millions of pesos, environmentalist Senator Loren Legarda said.
Instead, the budget allocated for dolomite should be used by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for capacity building of the country’s ecological solid waste and protected areas, among others.
“We should not extract from Cebu and bring it to Metro Manila,” Legarda said at an environment-related press conference at the residence of French Ambassador to the Philippines Michèle Boccoz Thursday night.
If only she were already a senator during proposal to launch the Dolomite Beach project, Legard said she would not have allowed it.
In fact, she added, she was never in favor of that project.
“I would not have allowed its funding,” she said.
With the second phase of the Dolomite Beach project coming, Legarda said she would not vote in favor of passing its budget in her capacity as the vice chair of the Senate Finance Committee.