#OPINION | Painted white, bleeding red
By Cathleen Baroy
According to multiple historians, the Ancient Greeks have never described the sea as blue. The same can be said by the many who live near the prolific Manila Bay. To them, its waters have long been tainted by its ecological degradation. Over the years, water quality has gone down significantly. Bacterial levels are well above the safe level for swimming, its waters having fecal coliform levels of 35 million most probable number (mpn) per 100 milliliters. This is a far cry from the 100 mpn, which is when water is deemed safe to swim in. Increased industrialization in surrounding areas has led to millions of garbage that adorn its shoreline.
There have been many efforts to revitalize the Manila Bay through rehabilitation. In 1999, concerned citizens filed a case against the entire government on behalf of Mother Nature. In 2008, the Supreme Court responded to this plea; the 13 government agencies that surrounded Manila Bay were required to report to the DENR regularly about their progress for the clean-up. 20,000 people also joined the coastal cleanup last September 2019.
The 2019 kick-off and clean-up showed that citizens are willing to collaborate when it comes to bringing back the bay. Despite this, the most recent move by the government is anything but environment-oriented.
Harry Roque announced the Manila Bay beautification project. The initiative focuses on surrounding the bay with white sand made from dolomite rock. Protests immediately arose in retaliation to the project. The Department of Health stated that the dolomite rock was harmful to humans, saying that inhalation of the rock might lead to respiratory issues. The introduction of the unfamiliar rock also meant disrupting the natural ecosystem present already in the bay.
It’s not the first time the government has chosen beautification over sustainable progress in regards to the bay. In 2012, then Manila mayor Alfredo Lim contracted the Manila Gold Coast corporation to create an entertainment hub along the bay. This was met with backlash from multiple environmental and fishermen groups, citing that the project would cause problems such as enhanced flooding.
The Manila Bay will be painted white. But, under an administration that refuses to listen to environmental experts and science, the harbor and its constituents will end up bleeding red.
It’s important to note that beautification, in theory, is not a bad thing. At a community level, it can bring many people together and encourage collaboration. However, beautification becomes exploitation once it’s done without permission from the concerned parties. The rehabilitation of the bay is one that involves multiple sectors, from scientists, to fishermen, to the urban poor. The dissent shows that said sectors were barely consulted regarding the project. Even the actual extraction of the dolomite rock was done behind the backs of the local government concerned, which was Cebu.
The project also deviates from the other root issues that plague the bay. Antonio Oposa, the leader of the 1999 case for Manila Bay, wrote that there are three important factors that affect its rehabilitation: solid waste management, informal settlers, and the sewerage systems. It’s important to take actions that not only affect the bay’s ecosystem, but also the rapid industrialization that surrounds it.
More importantly, Manila Bay raises the question: where exactly do our government’s priorities lie? What purpose does the white sand serve, when science and data have shown that it will cause more harm than good?
The tale of beautification in the name of progress is one that dates back to multiple presidents before Duterte. The white sands project comes at the heels of the recently proclaimed ‘Marcos Day’. Ironically enough, the holiday commemorates an era that also touted the same obsession with beautification.
During Marcos’ time, many infrastructures were built at the expense of working class Filipinos. The Manila Film Center is infamous for the tragedy that led to the deaths of hundreds of workers. The Cultural Center of the Philippines contributed to an extremely high amount of debt, one that we still pay off until today.
There is also the issue of brushing aside the urban poor to appease foreign visitors. During the Miss Universe pageant of 1974, walls were put up around the Manila slums to hide them from the visiting foreign powers. Even the visitation of Pope John Paul II led to a cleansing of sorts in Manila.
Like an oil spilling over into the sea, the Marcos regime’s affinity for using bandaids to heal wounds is one that carries over until now. It’s seen in how the Arroyo administration displaced multiple settlers in preparation for the ASEAN summit. It’s found in how Noynoy Aquino waxed poetry about the resilience of Yolanda victims, despite them also suffering from the government’s slow response to the typhoon. Even during a pandemic that has led to one of the longest quarantine periods, the presidential spokesperson states that our country has “the best testing policy in Asia”.
The fight for Manila Bay is not all hopeless though. This is not the first time the bay has been on the verge of reclamation, and it won’t be the last time multiple citizens will come to its aid.
Fishermen groups such as PAMALAKAYA are at the forefront of the modern battles of Manila Bay. They were one of the loudest dissenting voices towards the aforementioned Gold Coast project. Years later, they are as vocal as ever against the destructive white sands. Environmental groups such as Oceana Philippines and Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment lead the fight for eco-friendly initiatives. The dissent has led to DENR promising that they will proceed with their own analysis of the white sand.
However, the white sand is merely the tip of the iceberg. To bring back the bay means to acknowledge the neglect towards the urban poor, the lack of urban planning, solid waste management policies, and more. And to fight for it means demanding leaders to make decisions based on science, facts, and the well-being of their constituents.
