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A Technical Analysis on the Manila Bay Dolomite Beach

Reclamation Project

Article · January 2022

DOI: 10.54096/YOGV6309

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Policy Insight

A Technical Analysis on the Manila Bay

Dolomite Beach Reclamation Project

Mark Angelo C. Bucay, Tara Alessandra S. Abrina,

Jelaine L. Gan, and Maria Finesa Cosico

Introduction
Manila Bay is the country’s largest bay with a total coastline of
190 kilometers. The water systems of most of Central Luzon, portions
of Pangasinan and Nueva Vizcaya, most of CALABARZON (Cavite,
Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), including the Laguna Bay Area, and
Metropolitan Manila drain into the Manila Bay Area (MBA). As of
2015, approximately 34 million people live around the MBA (NEDA
2020).

As cited in the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master

Plan (MBSDMP) of the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA), the environmental state of Manila Bay has
been declining from habitat degradation, biodiversity loss, and
pollution. Decades of coastal alteration, particularly on the Metro
Manila coast, have changed the original landscape. Important
ecosystems are under threat: mangroves are diminishing due to
overutilization and illegal harvesting; coral reefs are destroyed by
overfishing, illegal fishing, and construction of commercial and
industrial establishments; mudflats and seagrasses are lost due
to sedimentation and reclamation activities. Of the residential
homes in the MBA, 80 percent have poorly designed and/or poorly
maintained septic tanks. In 2018, an estimated 20,586 tons per day
of solid waste makes its way to the Bay (NEDA 2020). In response to
the dismal state of the Manila Bay, the Supreme Court issued a Writ of
 Philippine Journal of Public Policy: Interdisciplinary Development Perspectives (2021)

Continuing Mandamus1 (“Mandamus”) “to clean up, rehabilitate, and

preserve Manila Bay, and restore and maintain its waters to SB level”²
in the case Metropolitan Manila Development Authority v. Concerned
Residents of Manila Bay (G.R. Nos. 171947–48, 18 December 2008).

The current Department of Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR) administration started the Manila Bay Clean Up Program
in accordance with the Mandamus. As part of this program, a
memorandum of agreement was signed between the DENR and the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on November 12,
2019 to implement the Php 389 million beach nourishment project.
Of this budget, 7.2 percent (Php 28 million) was allotted for the
procurement of dolomite sand (Moaje 2020c). This beach nourishment
project covers a 120-meter by 160-meter, which is a portion of a
500-meter coastline stretch to be rehabilitated (UP MSI 2020). Its
intended impacts are coastal protection and promotion of tourism
values (Moaje 2020c).

In response, the Marine Science Institute (MSI) and the Institute

of Biology (IB) of the University of the Philippines (UP) have released
statements about the possible effects of the dolomite overlay to the
environment. In particular, since beach nourishment is not one of
the recommended priorities for the Bay’s rehabilitation,3 the move
warrants probing into the DENR’s project phase implementation,
fund allocation, and prioritization. Thus, the objective of this paper
is to review existing research related to the beach nourishment
project on Manila Bay in order to analytically (as opposed to
empirically) assess the project’s (1) sustainability, (2) contribution
to the Writ of Continuing Mandamus, and (3) possible effects on the
Bay’s environment and ecosystems. The paper is thus structured and
arranged around these three topics.

On Sustainability for Coastal Protection

Manila Bay’s Physical Characteristics

The entire MBA has a varied terrain (NEDA 2020). Its northern
portion is characterized by flat lands serving as agricultural lands in
most of Central Luzon; further north and northeast are mountainous
areas of the Nueva Ecija–Nueva Vizcaya border. In the eastern portion
lies the Sierra Madre range along Aurora, Bulacan, Rizal, and Quezon.
 Bucay, Abrina, Gan, and Cosico • Policy Insight

South and southeast of the Bay also lies a relatively flat area of Manila
and Cavite, a small portion of Batangas, and the Laguna Bay (which is
mostly surrounded by provinces of Laguna and Rizal), while Bataan
protrudes into the mouth of the Bay to the west.

Figure 1. Scope of the Manila Bay Area.

Source: NEDA 2020, 3

Manila Bay serves as the basin of the various river systems in its
surrounding terrain. The delta of the Pampanga River System covers
the entire northern shore of Manila Bay. On the western shore,
 Philippine Journal of Public Policy: Interdisciplinary Development Perspectives (2021)

smaller river systems from the central mountain ranges of Bataan

drain into the Bay. River systems from Cavite upland areas drain into
the southern shore, while the Obando and Pasig Rivers drain from the
east. The Pasig River and its esteros are the only outlet draining the
Laguna de Bay waters towards Manila Bay. All the riverine waters from
these outfalls supply the Bay with different chemical compositions
from their river origins and tracks, including pollution load. These
waters are then flushed into the Bay where they mix with the seawater
coming from the West Philippine Sea.

A characteristic “double gyre” or two spiraling wave patterns

is observed in the Bay (Figure 2). These two gyres spin in opposite
directions in the north and south portions. These gyres are caused by
tidal movements coupled with the monsoonal winds entering the Bay
and cause the dispersion of materials from the outfalls and the Bay’s
shoreline, such as river deposits and the Bay’s sediments.

Figure 2. Double gyres in Manila Bay.

Source: de las Alas and Sadusta 1985; Villanoy and Martin 1987; de las Alas 1990;
cited in UP MSI 2020
 Bucay, Abrina, Gan, and Cosico • Policy Insight

The Bay’s substrate ranges from mud to sand. Sediment

depositions from the outfalls supply mud, particularly those from the
Pampanga River delta, making the eastern portion covering Bulakan,
Obando, Navotas, and Manila, as well as the central portion of the Bay,
generally muddy. The original sandy substrates are limited to areas
near Baseco, Manila, and in Cavite such as Maragondon and Ternate
near the Bay’s mouth. The seasonal redistribution of these substrates
are affected by the gyres, upwelling, and the amount of river deposits
from the surrounding terrain. This circulation of nutrients supports
the different ecosystems, which in turn support the livelihood of
coastal communities and the broader national fisheries.

The first major concern of this analysis is the long-term

sustainability of the project: considering the level of funding allocated
for dolomite procurement, how long will the sand outlay remain on the
shore? In the following sections, we summarize the findings from the
extensive literature on the MBA to answer this question, particularly
on sediment transport, coastal erosion, storm surge, and sea level rise.

Sediment Transport
In their statement, the UP MSI cites evidence of nearshore
sediment transportation, which is strongly influenced by wind
direction, wave action, and tidal fluctuation. Moreover, long-term
sediment dispersal patterns can change through natural or anthropogenic
processes. For example, it was found that the embayment at the
southernmost jetty port in Pasig River accumulates sediments and
other floating materials such as garbage (Siringan and Ringor 1998).
In the case of the Manila Baywalk, the seawalls were built to delay
erosion, but they caused deepening in the offshore of the wall
(ibid.). The heavy sedimentation deposition between the Pasig and
Meycauayan Rivers tends to change direction during the southwest
monsoon season due to the characteristic double gyre of the Bay
(de las Alas and Sodusta 1985; Villanoy and Martin 1987; de las Alas
1990; cited in UP MSI 2020). These studies suggest that any material
used in the overlay along Roxas Boulevard, including dolomite sand,
is likely to be dispersed either north towards the Navotas–Obando–
Meycauayan areas, or south towards Parañaque and even the Cavite
area.
 Philippine Journal of Public Policy: Interdisciplinary Development Perspectives (2021)

The DENR has since clarified that two geotubes of two

meters in diameter were installed to enclose the dolomite sand and
prevent erosion (Moaje 2020a; DENR 2020). However, the Mines and
Geosciences Bureau (MGB) under the same department stated in their
news brief that mechanically placed sand on beaches will move with
waves, currents, tides, wind, and other anthropogenic and natural
events (MGB 2020). It also stated that beach nourishments are not
intended to stop erosion, but rather prevent it from happening in the
short term. DENR has yet to clarify how frequently the sand will be
replenished, considering the likelihood of coastal erosion.

Figure 3. Satellite images showing the dolomite beach along Roxas

Boulevard, Manila taken on September 6, 2020 (top) and
December 23, 2020 (bottom).
Source: Google Earth Pro
 Bucay, Abrina, Gan, and Cosico • Policy Insight

Coastal Hazards
In 2019, the DENR’s own research bureau, the Ecosystems
Research and Development Bureau (ERDB), rated all surveyed coastal
cities in the National Capital Region (NCR), including Las Piñas, Pasay,
Manila, and Navotas, with a high Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI)
ranging from 62.01 to 74.70 percent. The CVI is a measure of the degree
of vulnerability to coastal erosion; that is, more vulnerable sites are
given a higher CVI. Manila obtained the highest CVI 71.67 to 74.70
percent, which is mainly due to continued coastal alteration, sparse
vegetation, and lack of natural ecosystems in the area such as seagrass
and coral reefs. This exposes the city’s coast to increased wave energy
and unbalanced sediment transport (DENR–ERDB 2019).

Roxas Boulevard, where the dolomite beach is located (Figure

3), is particularly vulnerable to coastal erosion and storm surges
(Montesa et al. 2017; Partnerships in Environmental Management
for the Seas of East Asia 2005). The earliest account of storm surges
in Manila Bay was in 1589 with reported surge heights up to 4 to 6
meters (Lapidez et al. 2015). These destructive surge heights were
seen in recent years during tropical cyclones Yoling (1970) and
Bebeng (1983), and typhoon Pedring in 2011 (Morin, Warnitchai,
and Weesakul 2016). The latter typhoon caused the destruction of
the seawall along Roxas Boulevard, which resulted in the flooding of
adjacent areas (DENR-ERDB 2019).Similar to the findings on coastal
erosion, ERDB observed a generally high vulnerability of Metro
Manila cities to storm surge.

Meanwhile, the National Mapping and Resource Information

Authority (NAMRIA), also an attached agency of the DENR, stated in
an interview that the sea level rise in Manila Bay is 13.2 millimeters
per year, which is four times higher than the global average (Ng 2020).
In areas near Bulakan, Obando, Meycauayan, Marilao, Navotas, and
Malabon, the effects of sea level rise have already been observed: some
built-up structures and residential households are already permanently
submerged (Severino 2018).

All of these climate and coastal hazards, as reported by the DENR’s

own attached agencies, warrant a comprehensive and transparent
review of the project’s sustainability. While the DENR assures that the
sand will not easily be “washed out” (Moaje 2020b), what becomes clear
 Philippine Journal of Public Policy: Interdisciplinary Development Perspectives (2021)

is that the beach nourishment project maintenance is expected to be

costly and perhaps financially impractical given the site’s vulnerability
to coastal and climate hazards.

Figure 4. Sea level rise and groundwater use in Metro Manila, 1902–2000.
Source: Lifted from Rodolfo and Siringan 2006

On the Writ of Continuing Mandamus

Water Quality, Solid Waste Management, and

Health Concerns
The sustainability and objective of the beach nourishment project
become questionable when the Supreme Court’s Writ of Continuing
Mandamus and NEDA’s master plan identified waste management as
the top priority for the Bay’s rehabilitation. The second major concern
of this analysis is the alignment of the project’s objectives with these
rehabilitation priorities.

Manila Bay waters have been suffering from decades of pollution

loading and solid waste mismanagement exacerbated by increasing
 Bucay, Abrina, Gan, and Cosico • Policy Insight

population and urban development (Jacinto et al. 2006). Sewer coverage

in the major cities surrounding Manila Bay is low at 16 percent. Of this,
less than 20 percent of the wastewater is effectively treated before
release into the waterways. Coliform bacteria naturally found in the
organic wastes of animals (including humans), was found to be at >200
million Most Probable Number (MPN)/100 ml in some outfalls, several
magnitudes above the allowable maximum limit of 5,000 MPN/100ml
for Class SC waters, which is the current classification of Manila Bay
(UP MSI 2020). The decomposition of this organic matter load, which
mostly comes from the Pasig River, results in a yearly biochemical
oxygen demand (BOD) level of 250,000 tons (ibid.).

In addition, the high nutrient loading can cause hypoxic or low

dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions. Currently, the hypoxic conditions
observed on the bottom waters of Manila Bay (ibid.) has DO levels
below the minimum allowable level of 6mg/L set by DENR for Class
SB water (DENR-EMB 2016). An intensified hypoxic condition on
the parts of the Bay can be observed during the Southwest monsoon,
where ~5 meters or 80 percent of the water column of the bay is low
in oxygen. (Sotto, Jacinto, and Villanoy 2014). Common sources of
pollution are nitrates and phosphates directly drained into the Bay,
and surface run-offs from river discharges. This low DO is also one
reason for the occurrence of fish kills. Encouraging tourism activities
in these areas before the issues of water quality are addressed may
jeopardize the public’s health.

On the Possible Effects on Ecosystems

The effect of dumping foreign material on the Bay’s ecosystems
may be significant, but without a publicly available Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS), these effects remain unclear. This is the third
and last concern of this analysis.

The DENR claims that the project is exempt from an EIS

because the area no longer hosts biotic systems (Cabico 2020).
Environmental enhancement activities of a benign nature are
issued a Certificate of Non-Coverage under the Revised Procedural
Manual of the Implementing Rules and Regulations for the Philippine
Environmental Impact Assessment System. However, this paper
posits that the characteristic flow of water that transports sediments
across the Bay (Jacinto et al. 2006) means the scope of its possible
 Philippine Journal of Public Policy: Interdisciplinary Development Perspectives (2021)

impact may be much larger than the immediate surrounding areas.

This means that the project is likely to affect areas as far as the nearly
300 hectares of fringing coral reefs in Bataan and Cavite, as well as
the benthic macrofauna and mangrove areas found north of the Bay
(NEDA 2020).

Dolomite may be a natural compound; however, it is foreign

to the project site. The dolomite sand is likely to increase the Total
Suspended Particles (TSP) in the Bay and consequently affect
the turbidity of the water. High turbidity, in turn, can affect the
feeding patterns and the survival of fish (Hecht and van der Lingen
1992; Fiksen et al. 2002). This should be taken into consideration,
especially since the fishery stock density of the Bay still has a chance
of increasing, as it did from 0.32 tons/km2 in 2014 to 0.48 tons/km2 in
2015 (Bendaño et al. 2017). The highest density of fish eggs was found
just offshore of the dolomite project site (Tobias et al. 2017). A new
species of sardine, Sardinella pacifica, was also recently found in the
area (Hata and Motomura 2019). The aquaculture in Manila Bay even
accounts for 30 percent of the total production in the Philippines
(Montojo et al. 2020). All these prove that the Bay is capable of
hosting marine life and providing food supply for the country.
That there is even a likelihood of having detrimental effects on this
productivity from the project warrants an EIS. Moreover, there were
reports of coral destruction in source province of the dolomite sand
(Mayol 2020).

Conclusion
In light of the Writ of Continuing Mandamus issued for the
rehabilitation of Manila Bay and the absence of a publicly available
EIS, the objective of this paper was to analytically present the possible
trajectories and effects of the beach nourishment (dolomite) project
of the DENR towards the goal of the Mandamus. After an extensive
literature review on the possible impacts of this project on the Bay,
however, there still remain many unknown factors.

First, the short-term and temporary nature of beach nourishment

must be weighed against its costs. The DENR’s own agencies (i.e., MGB,
ERDB, NAMRIA) have published studies on the characteristics, and
the climate and coastal vulnerabilities of the Bay. These are likely to
impact the sustainability of the project, and the expected costs of
 Bucay, Abrina, Gan, and Cosico • Policy Insight

maintenance (i.e., the need for constant replenishment) are high.

Thus, a probe into the DENR’s method of prioritization and budget
allocation is warranted.

Second, it can be surmised that allocating resources for dolomite

overlaying deprioritized the Bay’s much needed physico-chemical
rehabilitation, the identified top priority for the Mandamus and the
MBSDMP. While DENR is one of the Mandamus agencies tasked to
rehabilitate the Bay, the MBSDMP does not cite the need for a dolomite
overlay. Ultimately, beach nourishment will not address the Bay’s
severely polluted waters and could even exacerbate it. Promoting
tourism in the area while pollution loading is still high warrants a probe
into the DENR’s project phase implementation and timing.

Third, Manila Bay is not dead. Contrary to the DENR’s

justification for not requiring an EIS for the project (Cabico 2020),
recent data show that it remains to be a productive marine resource.
Coastal communities, particularly fisherfolks, depend on the Bay’s
resources for their food and livelihood. Any coastal alteration
project must always consider the possible effects to the Bay’s coastal
ecosystems in an EIS, especially since the wave dynamics and physical
characteristics of the Bay enlarge the potential scope of impact. It must
also consider the effects to the ecosystems of the source province.

This paper emphasizes the importance of impact assessments

and stakeholder engagement in project design and implementation.
The wealth of information on Manila Bay from years of research,
especially by the DENR’s own agencies, is sufficient for an analysis
with little marginal cost for assessment. Additionally, marine science
and biology experts from public institutions and the academe have
expressed their concern for the dolomite project, as cited in this
paper. With plans to extend the area of the overlay project, it is
incumbent upon the DENR to tap these resources and publicly
release an EIS before expanding. Otherwise, a Writ of Kalikasan,
which is another special civil action on environmental cases, may be
petitioned, particularly to motion for discovery measures such as an
ocular inspection or production of documents.

Considering all of these factors, the opportunity cost of the

dolomite beach remains high at this time. Manila Bay’s natural
ecosystems, such as its mangroves, are currently being destroyed to
 Philippine Journal of Public Policy: Interdisciplinary Development Perspectives (2021)

make way for other projects. As of the last MBSDMP report, wastewater
and solid waste continue to pour into the Bay. The Mandamus
highlights the need to improve the state of the environment, but
the literature suggests that the nourishment project is not likely to
contribute to the fulfillment of this mandate. The current status of
the Bay as published in the MBSDMP annexes may also suffice to
provide prima facie evidence of gross negligence, or even diversion
of funds. Amidst the ongoing pandemic, when the brunt of the
economy’s instability is absorbed by marginalized communities, the
project’s timeliness and intended aims are questionable at best.

Mark Angelo Bucay is from AGHAM (Advocates of Science and

Technology for the People) Food Security and Self-Sufficiency.

Tara Alessandra S. Abrina is from AGHAM UP Diliman.

Jelaine L. Gan is from the Institute of Biology, College of Science

at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Maria Finesa Cosico is from AGHAM - Advocates of Science

and Technology for the People.

The authors are grateful to Narod Eco, Clemente Bautista, Kim

Gargar, Cleng Julve, Jerwin Baure, and Chuckie Calsado for their
useful comments and suggestions.
 Bucay, Abrina, Gan, and Cosico • Policy Insight

Notes
1. A Writ of Continuing Mandamus is a special civil action for
environmental cases made against government representatives who are found
to have neglected the environment-related duties of their office (A.M. No. 09-
6-8-SC). In the case of Manila Bay, it effectively makes the Mandamus agencies
answerable to the Supreme Court by issuing periodic reports on the progress
of the Manila Bay rehabilitation until it is found by the technical board to have
achieved SB waters status.
2. SB level is the equivalent of the Class SB sea waters in the Water
Classification Tables under DENR Administrative Order No. 34 [1990], which
is the water quality deemed fit for swimming, skin-diving, and other forms of
contact recreation.
3. The Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan (MBSDMP) of
the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) is the most updated
and comprehensive master plan for Manila Bay’s rehabilitation.

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