PB urged: Continue probe on Alcoy dolomite transport to Manila Bay

A 500-meter stretch of the 190-kilometer coastline of Manila Bay will be covered with sand derived from crushed dolomite in a bid by the government to beautify the scenery and encourage the public to protect it. Environmental activists are not exactly pleased. —RICHARD A. REYES

CEBU CITY, Philippines — An assurance of compliance to mandated regulations should not end the investigation or probe on the transport of crushed dolomite from Cebu to Manila Bay.

A climate justice group calls on Cebu officials to continue its investigation or probe on the transport of the 3,500 tons of crushed dolomite from Alcoy town for the Manila Bay “make-over” despite the word of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Central Visayas (MGB-7) that the transport was compliant to all mandated requirements and regulations.

The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) said it had remained a question if the “greatest measures to ensure environmental sustainability” were actually being practiced in the environment agencies instead of merely complying to bureaucratic processes.

“We are also concerned by the way in which they released permits for these types of activities. These activities need to be removed completely from our practice given the effects of extractive industries on our natural resources,” PMCJ Cebu Chapter Coordinator  Teody Navea said in a statement.

The pouring of “white sand,” which would turn out to be crushed dolomite from Alcoy, Cebu, started last week which drew flak with environmental advocates warning that the move is destructive not just on the bay but also on the area where the mineral was sourced.

READ: Critics see red in Manila Bay’s ‘white sand’ makeover
READ: 3.5k metric tons of dolomite for Manila Bay from Alcoy, Cebu

Cebu Provincial Board Member John Ismael Borgonia, chairman of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, earlier said they tapped the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) to look into the matter.

In a statement on Saturday, September 5, MGB-7  said they issued an Ore Transport Permit to PMSC (Philippine Mining Service Corporation) “to transport 3,500 WMT of processed dolomite (size -5mm) with cargo destination at Manila Integrated Cargo Terminal, Manila City.”

“We urge a full investigation by the Provincial Board to hold MGB-7 and the DENR accountable for their lenient regulations on extremely harmful industries. We hope a swift and decisive action shall be taken against the violators,” PMCJ said.

PMCJ-Cebu Chapter added that it would support local legislations that would enforce measures to ensure that environmental impacts would be given the utmost importance.

Vanea said that Cebu “is highly susceptible for the effects of climate change and sea-level rise” and that “incompetence and irresponsibility, given the climate emergency, are not any more acceptable standards for government officials stationed in MGB-7 and the DENR.”/dbs