The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts will launch on Nov. 17 its investigation on the controversial Manila Bay Dolomite Beach Project.
In a statement, Monday, Nov. 3, the panel chair, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon disclosed the inquiry on the P389-million dolomite beach project would begin “in the week of November 17, 2025.”
“The first hearing will focus on the project’s necessity based on (a) the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan and (b) the Supreme Court’s (SC) Continuing Mandamus for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay,” he said.
According to Ridon, the hearing will also examine the project’s flooding impact on adjacent Ermita–Malate areas, including the status of the Faura, Remedios, and Estero de San Antonio Abad drainage outfalls and any effects arising from the project’s engineering specifications.”
He said his panel began sending invitations to resource persons from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPD), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the city government of Manila.
Ridon earlier cited the need for congressional probe into the matter “to determine whether or not the artificial, white sand beach was truly needed in the first place.”
“The question we should ask is, was it necessary to put a Dolomite beach in Manila Bay, or should we have just allocated it instead to an additional sewage treatment plant, meaning something that would truly clean the waters of Manila Bay,” he said.
