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Dolomite Yarn

The Manila Bay Dolomite Sand Project was pursued during the COVID-19 pandemic at a cost of Php 389 million in public funds to supposedly improve mental health, despite people being unable to visit due to quarantines. It prioritized beautification over more urgent public needs and may damage the environment, while the funds could have fed many families. There is a lack of accountability and misaligned priorities in government spending. Better financial monitoring and accountability across agencies could help minimize corruption if combined with political will from leaders.

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krips
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42 views1 page

Dolomite Yarn

The Manila Bay Dolomite Sand Project was pursued during the COVID-19 pandemic at a cost of Php 389 million in public funds to supposedly improve mental health, despite people being unable to visit due to quarantines. It prioritized beautification over more urgent public needs and may damage the environment, while the funds could have fed many families. There is a lack of accountability and misaligned priorities in government spending. Better financial monitoring and accountability across agencies could help minimize corruption if combined with political will from leaders.

Uploaded by

krips
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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“One after another and one over the other” -- this is how I would like to describe corruption issues

here
in the Philippines. Our officials like to cover up issues by deviating the public’s attention to a new one.
Just like the issue I wish to discuss—one underneath the many news that have risen above it.

COVID-19. A pandemic: a time when we need our public servants most. During this time, in the middle
of the first wave where cases got higher and higher each day, they decided that it would be the best
time to pursue the Manila Bay Dolomite Sand Project. The crushed dolomite boulders that were put
along a portion of the Manila Bay was said to be a vital part of its rehabilitation, according to the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which spearheaded the project.

There are so many areas that make this project wrong:

First, the estimated cost of the rehabilitation project is Php 389 million. Millions of public funds were
used to put up a beach meant to improve the “mental health” of the Filipinos. Writing this still makes
me emotional because of the mockery they established on mental health. Our mental health is not
dependent on this project, and I believe that its completion did not have a relatively positive effect on
me. People suffering from challenges brought by trauma or personality disorders need medication and
consultation from professionals, not this.

Second, we cannot even go outside because of the quarantine protocols established by the Inter-Agency
Task Force (IATF). As such, people cannot personally go to see Manila Bay. Now, why did they have to
prioritize this?

Last, an additional Php 265 million budget is allocated for the 2 nd phase of this project. In the beginning,
many people criticized this idea because the sand might just be washed away during typhoons and that
it might pose as a threat to the marine biodiversity of Manila Bay. On top of this, a coalition of advocates
and experts monitoring the rehabilitation program planned to file a writ of kalikasan because DENR
failed to present an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). DENR’s inability to comply to its own
environmental regulations is already a prima facie case for the Supreme Court, according to Infrawatch
PH convenor Terry Ridon.

VP Leni Robredo expressed her disapproval of the program when she said that the fund used for it could
have already fed 80,000 families. The misaligned priorities of different government agencies need to be
addressed. More controls must be established before release of funds to pursue a project. Also, a
stricter monitoring before approval of any plan must be enforced to ensure that there is indeed a need
to enact it.

If only the government could invest more in the development of an accounting system or software
where the government fund can be easily monitored and kept secured. With an efficient and effective
system, anyone who has access is held accountable. Also, every transaction made will be documented
through it. Audit opinions may also be strengthened if it is a centralized system that also allows and
accounts for all transactions from the different agencies.

Nevertheless, any effort to minimize, if not eradicate, corruption will not be successful if the higher ups
are still tolerating it.

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