BY JEFFREY DAMICOG
Sunbathing, walking leisurely and perhaps watching the famed sunset at the Manila Bay white sand beach will have to wait a little longer.
This after Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said Tuesday that the re-opening of the controversial “white sand” beach to the public will be only done when the coronavirus (COVID-19) is over.
“I will personally propose to Secretary Roy Cimatu, to our Manila Bay Task Force that we will open this after this pandemic,” he said during an interview over CNN Philippines.
“I think that’s the best time to re-open it,” the undersecretary pointed out following the large crowds who appeared over the weekend to visit the artificial white beach in violation of health protocols.
At the moment, the white sand beach area has been closed from the public until the project has been completed.
“I would like to apologize for what happened this weekend,” said Antiporda who assured that this will not happen again.
Antiporda stressed that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) did its part in ensuring health protocols were followed when the beach was opened to the public last weekend.
“Our jurisdiction is only in the entrance and the white sand area. So we have done our part social distancing, the health protocol was implemented well,” he said.
“Very sad na yung influx nung tao hindi siguro na-expect nung mga authorities,” lamented Antipordo who noted that police officials were relieved because of the lack of crowd control.
On the other hand, the undersecretary reiterated the assurance that the dolomite used for the white sand beach is safe and that it will not be washed away by strong storms.
Contrary to allegations, the undersecretary the dolomite at the white sand beach contains no harmful heavy metals.
“We conduct our very own check before the shipment of the dolomite from Cebu to Manila. There’s a check already in our regional office. We have a result saying that wala naman siyang heavy metal,” he said. (Jeffrey Damicog)
