Lack of physical distancing among Manila Bay 'white sand beach' visitors alarms DOH
MANILA, Philippines — The failure to follow physical distancing rules during the opening of the artificial white sand beach along Manila Bay over the weekend alarmed the Department of Health as it reminded the public to continuously practice minimum health standards.
People had been flocking to the stretch of the baywalk covered with crushed dolomite rocks since Saturday, when it was opened to the public until the early evening of Sunday. Photos and videos of the event showed people crowding and not practicing physical distancing despite efforts to limit the people inside the beach area.
“Ito ay isang nakakabahalang sitwasyon. Alam nating lahat na di pa nawawala ang virus dito sa atin,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media forum Monday.
(This is a worrying situation. We know that the virus is still around.)
Vergeire stressed the need for the proper implementation of health protocols that are necessary in slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“Kailangan pa rin nating i-enforce ang minimum health standards. Kailangan nating mapalalahan ang ating mga kababayan na ito ay isang delikadong situation dahil maaaring magkaroon ng pagkakahawa-hawa ng mga mamamayan na pumupunta dyan na di pinapatupad nang maiigi ang minimum health standards,” she said.
(We need to enforce minimum health standards. We need to remind the people that it is a dangerous situation because there might be transmission of the virus if minimum health standards are not strictly implemented.)
The event resulted in the relief of Police Lt. Col. Ariel Caramoan, the commander of Manila Police District Police Station 5.
The Joint Task Force COVID Shield said in a statement Sunday that Caramoan “could have prevented the quarantine protocol violations at the Manila Bay if there was prior planning and regular monitoring of the situation in the areas.”
“I saw yesterday there was this action that the Philippine National Police were requested to mobilize more of their cadres so that they can strictly enforce minimum health standards in this area. Also, there was this move to coordinate with the City of Manila,” Vergeire said, adding that the incident may be discussed in the meeting of the government’s inter-agency task force.
The “beach nourishment” project—which includes the artificial white sand beach—is part of the efforts to rehabilitate Manila Bay, government officials said. Environmental groups criticize the project for being costly and for being potentially harmful to communities and marine ecosystem.
The DOH has so far reported 286,743 cases of COVID-19 in the country, with most of the infections coming from outbreak epicenter Metro Manila.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources orders the closure of Aristocrat restaurant in Roxas Boulevard for "generating and discharging pollutive wastewater" amid the government's move to rehabilitate Manila Bay.
The Manila Bay rehabilitation program involves cleanup activities, relocation of illegal settlers as well as apprehension of establishments that violate the Philippine Clean Water Act and other environmental laws.
Last January 22, the Manila City government has ordered the temporary closure of Manila Zoo to allow the reconstruction of its sewer lines. The zoo is located near Estero de San Antonio Abad in Malate, Manila, which directly drains into the Manila Bay.
DENR ordered establishments around the bay to put up their own sewage treatment plants last January 11.
Fishers' group PAMALAKAYA reports that fishers witnessed a dredging vessel closely passing by their fishing boat off Cavite last night, October 7.
The continued dredging or reclamation off Manila Bay comes two months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the suspension of reclamation in Manila Bay.
In its report, the group says the dredging vessel is involved in seabed quarrying in Cavite to fulfill several dump-and-fill projects in Manila Bay, particularly for the airport reclamation project in Bulacan.
It condemns the act saying it is "a proof that Marcos Jr's suspension order on reclamation is a sham, especially with the absence of an official Executive Order." — Rosette Adel
The Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach will be reopened to the public on May 20, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources announces.
NOW: Undersecretary Jonas Leones, during the flag raising ceremony of the Agency, announces the reopening of the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach on May 20. #TayoAngKalikasan pic.twitter.com/UMYmcQ6QIO
— ???? (@DENROfficial) May 16, 2022
A fishers' group slams the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for issuing an environmental compliance certificate to a reclamation project in Bulacan.
The DENR has granted San Miguel Corp. a permit for its P700-billion aerotropolis project that would cover over 2,500 hectares of Manila Bay.
Pamalakaya says the aerotropolis project is "on the opposite track" of the Manila Bay rehabilitation program.
“Reclamation defeats the purpose of rehabilitation as it endangers vital marine resources that keep Manila Bay abundant and biodiverse," Pamalakaya chair Fernando Hicap says.
Akbayan is calling on the original parties in the 2008 environmental protection case over Manila Bay to join them in questioning the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources' dolomite beach project.
The party does this in a statement after the Supreme Court denied its motion to intervene in the case, adding the court "has taken, quite sadly, a hands-off approach on an issue of transcendental importance."
It adds: "Even the high tribunal's statement that it found no violation of its continuing Mandamus is discouraging. It limited its findings to the reports submitted by the DENR on its specific directive to clean the waters of the bay and perform maintenance measures."
"It failed to include in its assessment the DENR's dumping of fake sand as a polluting act violative of its order."
Akbayan party-list will hold a "bicycle action" on November 3 "coinciding with the Supreme Court's en banc session to deliberate on the petition Akbayan filed on the dumping of dolomite sand along Manila Bay."
Bikers will meet at Plaza Salamanca in the morning and head to the Supreme Court gates in Padre Faura.
In its announcement, Akbayan says it is calling for the SC to "hold the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in contempt for dumping fake white sand in Manila Bay, which is in violation of the court's continuing Mandamus on the area, as well to save Manila Bay the right way."
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