Jay Barrameda

The so-called “white sand” of Manila Bay didn’t come from magic— it came from Cebu’s mountains and the black mud of its destruction. Specifically, from Alcoy, Cebu, where mining companies have been grinding and shipping dolomite for years, cutting into fragile coastal and upland ecosystems. When the government ordered the 2020 “Manila Bay beautification” project, Cebu paid the price. The extraction disturbed coastal cliffs and mangrove belts, worsened erosion, and released sediments that disrupted marine life, the same natural barriers that could have slowed down storm surges and protected lowland areas. Back then, Environmental groups in Cebu had warned: “Every grain of dolomite ‘sand’ you pour in Manila Bay is a wound cut from Cebu’s heart.” Now, a few years later, Typhoon Tino exposed the cost of that greed— weaker coastal defenses, more landslides, more floods. The legacy stinks!