Many tragedies and calamities followed by ill-timed priorities and

misplaced projects are already filled this year. Yet, instead of focusing on the current issues: both pandemic and disaster responses, the government still chooses to falsely rehabilitate a soon-to-be-completed-by-seven-years-beach. Suffice it to say, the cosmetic beautification of Manila Bay is clearly the glow that no one specifically asked for in these difficult times.
It is a clear fact that the Philippines incurred debts long before the administration of President Duterte even started.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has reported, according to Rivas (2020), that the current outstanding debt balance accumulated from the past by the end of August is about Php9.615T. Then, at the end of the first half of 2020, the Department of Finance showed a 48.1 percent increase in debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) compared to 2019. That is to say, little by little, the country can still actually pay for its loans without incurring additional debts. This is certainly some good news. However, if the successive ill-timed projects (such as the distribution of Php19.1B for the National Task Force to End Communist Local Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for 2021) are still being continued, it may not last. The construction of Manila Bay's white sand coinciding with the pandemic and calamities will be a good example of these. Although the president alone is not to blame for this, on the basis of many ethical issues, he is still held accountable alongside other government officials. This is because the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act allows the President to realign allocations for additional financial assistance for the Covid-19 response under the 2019 to 2020 budgets (CNN, Philippines Staff, 2020). The government is actually reducing the chances of completely eradicating or at least reducing the dire consequences of the Covid-19 virus as well as many natural disasters by approving the so-called rehabilitation of Manila Bay. This simply means that the costs for medical facilities, infrastructure remodeling, and victim assistance are slowly adding up. In short, the Php389M used for this project can add to the pile of mishandled allocations as well, which can result in another illiquid investment in turn.

This time, the project is seriously disadvantaged. First, according to the University of the Marine Science Institute of the Philippines, it does not improve the quality of water. Second, during the process of crushing dolomites, it breaches the ethical rights of workers' health. Third, if inhaled, there are few reported instances of its potential dangers to human health. Finally, it may have a long-term adverse effect on marine life. These aforementioned variables are just a summary of previous articles on this makeover's disadvantages.

Alternative recommendations for this are advised. Instead of pursuing this beautification and buying annual maintenance (in the event of storms or strong winds that can wash away the artificial sand), the experts strongly suggest focusing on cleaning the entire water completely so that mangroves are not endangered. "The UP Institute of Biology also added and quoted, "The rehabilitation program must demonstrate an understanding of land-sea connectivity as well as possible immediate, short-term, and long-term impacts on species, ecosystem, and seascape scales in order to be successful. Strategic protection and conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity by providing ecosystem services must be at its core: the very reason why Manila Bay needs to be rehabilitated.

pur-new-sol

Related Questions