Far from being a waste of public funds, the Manila Bay "dolomite" project may exactly what Filipinos need to get through the Covid-19 pandemic. This, after studies conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States showed that public parks and other public spaces such as the Baywalk, are vital components of a community’s welfare, especially for people living in the urban areas where stress is abundant.
For environmental groups along with concerned Filipinos, mangroves are better coastal defense instead of crushed dolomite boulders
WE hate to break it up to you, but the Department of Environment and National Resources’ (DENR) P28 million dolomite sand beach in Manila Bay can actually leave positive impacts on the mental and physical wellbeing of people.
The buzz whether in fact the dolomite beaches does promote positive mental health or not, stemmed out from Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque’s rebuttal of critics which said the project was untimely and “insensitive” in a time where the country is facing a health crisis and struggling to put food on the table.
“I don’t buy that argument. Kasi alam mo, sa gitna ng pandemya, kinakailangan din na pangalagaan ang mental health,” Roque said last year.
(I don’t buy that argument. Because you know, in the middle of a pandemic, caring for the people’s mental health is also a need.)
Although Roque’s defense was said seemingly a lifetime ago, the public would not want to move on from his remarks which abundantly appears on the comment sections of news posts concerning the project, on Facebook and on Twitter feeds.
For environmental groups along with concerned Filipinos, mangroves are better coastal defense instead of crushed dolomite boulders.
Additionally, the groups pointed out that during typhoon seasons, storm surges will just wash up the white sands and cover it with garbage and sludge.
But according to the government, the 900-meter beach is only part of the P389- M Manila Bay Rehabilitation, which is composed of many integrated coastal zone management projects of the entire area and its adjacent waterways.
And just this week, workers poured another batch of dolomite sand for the continuation of the reclamation despite causing another fuss from Filipinos.
Experts on public spaces
Technically speaking, the Manila Bay Beach is considered to be a public space, falling under the category of a blue space public park for being beside a coast or near a body of water.
These areas are open and accessible to all Filipinos and tourists for them to utilize.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States, public parks and other public spaces are a vital component of a community’s welfare, especially for people living in the urban areas where stress is abundant.
The CDC also highlighted the importance of these places as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to affect everyone and entire populations go into longer periods of isolation which showed much psychological implications to human health.
It recommended the opening of outdoor places and parks for the public as evidence show the virus infects more people on closed and poorly ventilated environments, provided that proper health protocols are in place and observed.
“Research over the years has shown that when people are more stressed, anxious and socially isolated, as we are right now due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, having access to parks, trails and natural areas becomes even more important,” the National Recreation and Park Association said on a separate take on the value of parks in the pandemic.
The NRPA also said that available studies show that a 45 to 90-minute walk in a natural setting, decreases rumination and other negative brain activities as compared to urban areas.
Hear me out, government projects, especially when approved and public funds are already allocated, are better implemented than delayed because if it does, then is the time we can say it was uneconomical and wasteful.
After all, the Manila Bay Beach is for everyone.(JT)
Tags: #ManilaBay, #dolomite, #mentalhealth, #publicspaces