DILG looks into white sand mess

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will discuss with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) the possible culpabilities of local officials over the botched implementation of health protocols after crowds gathered in Manila Bay’s beachfront on Sunday.

“I will discuss first with Environment Secretary (Roy) Cimatu other possible courses of action. We will also check what went wrong ,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said yesterday.

Despite restriction on mass gatherings, a large crowd gathered around a portion of Manila Bay to see the beachfront featuring artificial white sand.

Lt. Col. Ariel Caramoan, commander of the Ermita police station which has jurisdiction over Manila’s Baywalk, was relieved from his post over the incident.

Caramoan’s sacking opened up discussions among netizens who believed that DENR and city officials should be held liable for allowing a public event amid quarantine restrictions.

Año said the DENR and the Manila city government were granted permission for the two-day opening of the beachfront.

The DENR said the decision to open Manila Bay’s beachfront aims to prove that the government was “doing something to rehabilitate the bay.”

Police, public at fault

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Camilo Cascolan said yesterday the police should not be solely blamed for the incident.

“I’d like to be frank. It’s not just the fault of the police. It’s all of us, right? We should learn from this. As far as the police force is concerned, we always follow the rule of law and when we follow, we have no choice,” Cascolan told reporters.

The incident, according to Cascolan, should serve as a lesson to the public in following health protocols.