Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 13) — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Monday said it is confident the Manila Dolomite Beach will soon be swimmable after work on three outputs are done.
“Tinatapos lang natin ‘yung mga trabaho sa tatlong outputs. Ito po ‘yung outputs ng Padre Faura, Remedios, at saka Abad,” Executive Director Jacob Meimban Jr. of the DENR-Manila Bay Coordinating Office told CNN Philippines’ Newsroom Ngayon.
“Maglalagay tayo ng pumps, inaayos ‘yung intersector para lahat ng wastewater ay papunta sa sewage treatment plant dito sa Abad. The moment na matapos lahat ‘yan, nakikita po namin, very confident po kami, in due time, ay talagang magiging swimmable po ito sa lalong madaling panahon,” he explained.
[Translation: We’re just finishing work on three outputs. These are outputs of Padre Faura, Remedios, and Abad. We will put up pumps, we’re fixing intersector so all wastewater will go to the sewage treatment plant in Abad. The moment these are done, we’re seeing, we’re very confident, in due time, this will be swimmable as soon as possible.]
Meimban said they’re looking to achieve this by the end of the year, provided that all works are done.
“Tignan po namin itong katapusan ng taon na ito, kapag natapos po ‘yung mga sinasabi ko pong trabaho. ‘Pag hindi po nagawa ‘yan, by next year po, very confident po kami na swimmable na po sya,” he said.
[Translation: We’ll see by the end of the year if all the tasks I mentioned are done. If not, by next year, we’re very confident it will be swimmable.]
On Sunday, the DENR reopened the Manila Dolomite Beach to the public but swimming is prohibited.
“Hindi pa po pwedeng magswimming tayo dahil hindi pa po within the standard ‘yung ating tubig,” Meimban said.
[Translation: Swimming is not allowed because the water is still not within the standard.]
However, Meimban said that in their latest monitoring on June 6, the coliform level in the Manila Bay water is at 920 most probable number (mpn) per 100 milliliters compared to millions in 2019.
The dolomite beach is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Vaccination cards are not required upon entry, the department said, but it encourages visitors to be fully-vaccinated and follow the minimum health protocols like wearing of face masks and practicing social distancing.
