An official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Thursday said it was “impossible” for the artificial white sand or crushed dolomite dumped on the shoreline of Manila Bay to have caused the fishkill in the waters of Manila Bay close to Baseco in Tondo, Manila, earlier this week. Regine Nequia, president of the Baseco Seaside Neighborhood Association, expressed concern that the DENR’s “beach nourishment” project on the bay might have killed hundreds of fish that were found floating near the Baseco seawall, videos of which circulated on social media on Thursday morning. The fishkill video taken by Nequia was uploaded by the nonprofit Urban Poor Associates (UPA). The group’s media officer, Princess Esponilla, said UPA wanted the government to look into the problem as about 10 percent of the 22,000 families in Baseco were dependent on fishing.

Valenzuela, N. G., & Agoncillo, J. A. (2020, September 18). DENR official: ‘Impossible’ for Manila Bay ‘white sand’ to cause fish kill. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A4, A5.