Oceana Philippines hits Duterte for supporting Manila Bay 'dolomite' beach

Oceana Philippines, one of the country's environmental advocacy groups, slammed President Rodrigo Duterte's "justification" of the government's dumping of dolomite at Manila Bay shores, which the group considered as a band-aid solution.

The group was reacting to Duterte's State of the Nation Address wherein he said the "white sand beach" at Manila Bay -- funded through the P389-million Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) beach nourishment project -- should be replenished because of the waves.

"The recent footage of this reclamation project shows that dumping crushed dolomite is adding to our pollution woes and will not cover up one of the root causes of our problems in Manila Bay," the group said in a statement posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

Millions of funds used for the "beautification" of the Manila Bay shores should be utilized for other pressing issues such as "deepening poverty and unemployment, climate crisis and COVID-19," said Oceana Philippines.

"It is regretful that while the children prayed for guidance for government officials to work for the environment during the opening prayer at the SONA, the president failed to address this serious concern," it added.

Further, the group urged the government to prioritize its mandate to protect biodiversity and the ocean.

Despite calls to stop the nourishment project, it was opened again this month since it was launched in September 2020 amid the health crisis. --Consuelo Marquez/KBK, GMA News