‘White beach’ for people’s mental health – Palace
SETTING up a “white beach” in Manila Bay would bring peace of mind to the people, according to Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr.
Roque defended the plan of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to repair a section of the Baywalk along Roxas Boulevard that had eroded.
The plan was slammed by critics who said the money for beautifying Manila Bay was better spent bolstering the country’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“I don’t buy that argument. Kasi ala mmo,sa git nangp an dem ya, kin a kai lang and inn a pan gala ga an ang mental health ( I don’t buy that argument. Because, you know, amid a pandemic, mental health should also be taken care of),” Roque said in an interview on Saturday.
He claimed that a white stretch of beach in Manila Bay could provide peace of mind.
Roque earlier clarified that what would be used to fill in the Baywalk’s 500-meter stretch was not white sand, but “crushed dolomite boulders.”
He said the Baywalk repair is part of the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program, which began even before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
Roque stressed that the DENR would not pursue the project without first doing a comprehensive study.
“Manila Bay is known for its sunset, probably the best sunset in the world. With the white beach there, it will be one of the most picturesque sceneries in the whole world,” he added.
The bay’s fecal coliform level was about 300 million mpn (most probable number per 100 milliliters) per 100 ml when rehabilitation began in 2018.
Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo described the P349million Manila Bay makeover project as “insensitive.”
“Parangnapaka- insensitive na ga ga win moiy ans a height ng pandemic, naangdaming nagugu tom. Ang dam ing na g hi hi rap ,( It seems so in sensitive to do that at the height of the pandemic when a lot of people are starving. A lot of people are suffering),” she said.
She decried the government’s statement that there are no longer funds for providing assistance. She said the amount used for the makeover could instead fund her suggestion of providing P5,000 for each of the poorest families affected by the lockdown.
“Sa P5,000, anoiyan,mga 80,000 families an gm a tutu lung an mos a i sang buw an. Ang laking ba gay na matulun gan mona may ma kai n si la,ka sim ar a ming nagugu tom ngayon (For P5,000 each, it could help for 80,000 families in one month. It would be a big help for them to eat because a lot of people are goinh hungry),” she added.