DPWH mulls building breakwater to protect Manila Bay white sand

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) plans to build a breakwater to protect the Manila Bay white sand beach from being washed away by strong waves.

According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Jonas Leones, they received information that the DPWH would construct a breakwater and the geotubes that are currently in place.

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“In addition to the geotubes we placed, the DPWH as we have been informed, to ensure that the beach will be there and it will not be destroyed by the strong current, they plan to put a breakwater in that area, siguro malayo lang sa beach,” Leones told ABS-CBN News Channel.

“Ang purpose noon is similar to the geotubes, to caution the strong waves or strong waves na papalo doon sa beach area na ‘yun,” he also said.

(Its purpose is the same as that of geotubes, which is to caution the strong waves that will hit the beach area.)

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Leones maintained that the   in  was not washed out but was only covered by natural black sand.

DPWH mulls building breakwater to protect Manila Bay white sand

He also refuted reports of him quoted saying that “about 10 percent of the dolomite sand in Manila Bay has been swept to sea by the heavy rains.”

“There is no truth to the news reports that the dolomite sand has already been washed out to the sea,” he said in a statement.

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The DENR official said that the dolomite sand is still intact and was only “washed” in by black sand.

Leones insisted that the washed in dolomite “will not be washed out to the sea because of the geoengineering intervention we put on the project.”

“Ang two layers niyan ay regular black sand. Ang top layer ay dolomite. Yung water kapag nagkaroon ng malakas na wave, nadadala iyung black sand dun sa dolomite,” Leones said.