Secretary Roy Cimatu and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are under fire for initiating a P389-million project to convert the stony breakwater between the American embassy and the Manila Yacht Club along Roxas Boulevard into a white sand beach. The project was conceived to enhance Manila’s position as a tourist destination by beautifying the Manila Bay promenade. It also provides our people with a new public space for rest and recreation. It will be recalled that in December 2008, the Supreme Court issued a writ of continuing mandamus directing government agencies to clean up, rehabilitate, restore and maintain the waters of Manila Bay to a level fit for swimming. It further mandated government to reduce the coliform levels of the rivers and tributaries that flow into the bay.

Masigan, A. J. (2020, September 16). In defense of the Manila Bay Beach project. The Philippine Star, p. 7.