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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Ridon 'exonerates' ex-president Duterte from dolomite beach fiasco

Ridon 'exonerates' ex-president Duterte from dolomite beach fiasco

Published Nov 5, 2025 09:50 pm

At A Glance

  • Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon doesn't think former president Rodrigo Duterte should be blamed for the supposed fiasco that was the Manila Bay Dolomite Beach Project.
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (left) former president Rodrigo Duterte (PPAB)
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (left) former president Rodrigo Duterte (PPAB)


Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon doesn't think former president Rodrigo Duterte should be blamed for the supposed fiasco that was the Manila Bay Dolomite Beach Project.
Ridon had this to say Wednesday, Nov. 5, two weeks ahead of the House Committee on Public Accounts' launch of its inquiry in aid of legislation on the controversial, artificial white sand beach.
"To be very clear, this is not about the former president. I think very important ho na we have to focus on the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) officials who are actually complicit in the P389-million dolomite [beach] project," Ridon, committee chairman, said in a press conference Wednesday.
"Very important to know actually who was the person who originated the project itself. Kasi (Because) I don't think it was the former president," the lawyer-solon said.
The costly face-lift of the Manila Bay was carried out in 2020, at the very height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when Duterte was still the chief executive.
"No, there's no targeting [of the Dutertes]," Ridon clarified in response to allegations that the pursuit of the inquiry was simply intended to hurt the former first family.
For Ridon, the true culprit was the person who called the shots in the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program, the umbrella initiative that covered the artificial beach project. He tninks this person is either from the DENR or DPWH.
"He needs to answer bakit naglagay ng pondo for (why funds were funneled toward) beautification rather than expanding yun pong mga (the) sewage treatment plants, or other similar projects that will actually improve the water quality of Manila Bay."
Ridon is convinced that Filipinos would ultimately object to the dolomite beach project irrespective of which administration claims it.
"Kasi nga (It's because) the question has always been, first, is it consistent with the Manila Bay master plan; and second, is it consistent with the Supreme Court (SC) containing Mandamus.
"So the question of who the president is, is actually relevant, or the question on whether or not the dolomite project should have been green-lit in the first place," he said.
Lastly, Ridon said: 'I think the former president has many other more important concerns that he needs to deal with instead of worrying about the dolomite beach project."
The panel chairman earlier said that officials from the DENR, DPWH, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Manila City government would be invited to attend the panel hearings.
Ex-president Duterte is currently being held and tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague in the Netherlands for a charge of crimes against humanity. This is in connection with his bloody war on drugs. 
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