Isko Moreno Tells IATF to Sue DENR for Opening Dolomite Beach

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso has asked the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to sue officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for reopening the Dolomite Beach in Manila Bay. 

Domagoso said his office was not informed when the DENR decided to reopen the Dolomite Beach. 

“I am calling on the IATF. Charge those people in DENR of violating… the rules. Pinahirapan natin ang taumbayan pero ang unang naglalabag, eh, tayo ring mga nasa national government (We set strict rules for the public, only for national government to violate them),” Domagoso told ANC in an interview. 

Crowd of 70,000 Amass on Dolomite Beach

On its reopening day on October 17, an estimated 8,000 people trooped to the artificial beach, which can only accommodate 5,000. When news of its reopening spread, more people gathered on the artificial beach on the following weekend. An estimated crowd of 70,000 people flocked to the P389-million artificial beach on Sunday, October 24.

In May 2021, the DENR announced it would allot P265 million for the second phase of the controversial project, on top of the P389 million budget announced the previous year. But in September 2021, DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said the department would no longer include a budget for the artificial beach in its 2022 budget. 

Critics have slammed the government for prioritizing the P389-million dolomite artificial beach when it claimed it lacked funding for its COVID-19 response.