Natural or man-made beaches get dirty and if downpours brought gray sand to Manila Bay's white sand patch, it will be cleaned, according to the environment official overseeing the project. He also called for a truce with critics.
Crushed dolomite rocks are being laid out on a portion of Manila Bay to give millions of quarantined residents in the capital a break from coronavirus restrictions. It is currently off-limits to sightseers after its soft opening drew in huge crowds.
"Ang beachfront kailangan mine-maintain. Kahit saan tayo pumunta sa buong mundo, ang beachfront minemaintain. Kailangan linilinis yan (A beachfront, no matter where it is in the world, has to be maintained. It has to be cleaned)," said Environment Usec. Benny Antiporda.
"Parte ng paglilinis, siyempre, tatanggalin mo yung itim, just like what we are doing now (Part of the cleaning, of course, is removing the black sand, just like what we're doing now)," he said in an interview with reporters on the site, a portion of which was aired on GMA News' Facebook.
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Antiporda said the DENR was cleaning the area even as it is still the responsibility of the project contractor. The beautifucation project is not yet finished.
"Lie low muna sa batikos. Hintayin na lang natin matapos ito, that's the time sisingilin natin ang contractor kung may pagkukulang sila (Let's lie low with the criticisms. Let's wait for it to finish, that's the time to hold the contractor accountable for any shortcomings)," he said.
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