Journalist Barnaby Lo shared the other side of the government’s initiative in beautifying the Manila Bay through dumping crushed dolomite.
In a tweet, Lo shared a photo of the mountain in Cebu where the dolomite was sourced.
According to him, while Manila residents and diehard supporters of the Duterte admin were frenzied by the white sand in a 500-meter stretch area of Manila Bay, nature is being damaged in other parts of the country in exchange of it.
“On Manila’s dolomite beach, eto lang ang akin. In 2018, I covered a landslide in Cebu that killed 78. It was quite clearly due to mining (photo). Yet another mountain was flattened in Cebu so Manileños can enjoy white sand. Nature destroyed for fake nature won’t be w/o cost.”
In his tweet, Lo also mentioned the effects of destroying nature in creating a “fake nature”. He added that he was one of the journalists who covered the deadly landslide in Naga, Cebu in 2018 which killed more than 70 people.
On Manila’s dolomite beach, eto lang ang akin.
In 2018, I covered a landslide in Cebu that killed 78. It was quite clearly due to mining (photo).
Yet another mountain was flattened in Cebu so Manileños can enjoy white sand.
Nature destroyed for fake nature won’t be w/o cost. pic.twitter.com/dNSOx4ddC7
— Barnaby Lo 吳宗鴻 (@barnabychuck) September 19, 2020
In September 2018, Naga, Cebu had 78 people dead due to landslide from heavy rainfall.
The landslide is being attributed to the quarrying operation in the area by Apo Land and Quarry Corporations. Thus following the landslide DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu issued a suspension order against quarry operations in Central Visayas and 7 other regions pending their safety assessment.
Meanwhile, five days prior to the Naga, Cebu tragedy, another incident happened in Itogon, Benguet. At least 50 people were left dead in the landslide brought about by Typhoon Ompong.
Naga, Cebu, and Itogon, Benguet are known mining and quarrying towns, that’s why many environmental advocates are criticizing DENR’s dolomite project in Manila Bay because of its effects on nature.
The DENR and the Manila government has been highly criticized for the controversial Manila Bay white beach project. Aside from health hazards posted by the crush dolomites and its environmental safety effects, many critics slammed the government’s misplaced priorities in the time of the pandemic.
