An infrastructure-oriented thinktank revealed that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ 500-meter Manila Bay white sand project along Roxas Boulevard costs a whopping P795,000 per meter.
“The last time white sand was on the news, a former President was convicted of plunder. DENR’s white sand project is worse than plunder, because the project’s use of dolomite sand as beach topfill causes cancer, lung failure and other serious illnesses.”
This was the statement of Terry Ridon, Infrawatch PH convenor and former urban poor chief of the Duterte administration.
Wrong priorities
Ridon said the approved budget of the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program (Baywalk area) is PHP 397.897-Million, such that the white sand project costs around PHP 795,000 per meter of rehabilitating the Manila Baywalk.
“For comparison, the average cost of a two-lane road is around P25 million to P30 million per kilometer. The same amount can also fund a month’s social amelioration funding for almost 80,000 vulnerable families.”
Dolomite sand: Non-viable as beach material; exposure leads to cancer, lung failure
Ridon warned that the country’s major dolomite sand supplier makes no mention that dolomite can be used as topfill for beaches.
“Dolomite sand has typically been used for as: auxiliary materials for iron and steel, plate glass for construction materials, automotive glass, fertilizer, soil conditioner. Nothing in this list mentions dolomite as viable for use as artificial sand for beaches. So why is DENR insisting that there is nothing irregular about using dolomite sand in Manila Bay?”
Ridon said this is probably due to the proven ill effects of dolomite sand exposure on human health.
” Several studies consistently state that dolomite exposure is a hazard to human health:
a. May cause irritation of cornea, burning, itching and redness to the eye.b. Repeated or prolonged exposure may dry out the skin and cause irritation.c. Irritation of the lungs, coughing or choking may occur.d. Overexposure may cause silicosis, cancer, bronchitis, or emphysema.”
Ridon said DENR’s ‘bright boys’ should have known the health risks of dolomite sand before greenlighting its use in the Manila Bay project.
“No amount of motherhood statements will save DENR from direct responsibility for this monumental blunder. There is nothing to be proud about using dolomite sand as topfill. DENR will be causing another round of public health emergencies if they insist on this material for the project. The safety of the material was their holdout.”
Disclose total procurement cost for dolomite sand
Ridon said the DENR should disclose the total cost of procurement for dolomite sand, to assure the public that there was no overpricing.
“The unit cost of dolomite sand should be no more than PHP 600 per metric ton (or no more than the total amount of PHP 56.977-Million for 62,100 cu. meters) which is the highest retail price recorded by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in 2017. The current market price of dolomite sand is PHP469.50 per metric ton. Anything more will lead the public to believe that the project is not only a health hazard, but also overpriced.”
Unnecessary, merely cosmetic
“Unless DENR quits spewing motherhood statements to defend this project, fake white sand on Manila Bay looks like a very expensive, unnecessary cosmetic intervention along such a small stretch of its 190-kilometer coastline.
Worse, this poses as a significant health hazard at a time when our healthcare system is already overheating.”
“This is not a good sight, given government’s inadequate funding to confront the coronavirus crisis. Because harmful white sandy beaches will certainly not put food in the mouths of our most vulnerable families.”