The President’s marching order is to gradually re-open the economy, including the tourism sector, with the assurance that health and safety measures are in place.
Having said this, the national government, through the Department of Tourism (DOT), is working in concurrence with the local government units (LGUs) as they determine when tourism operations would resume in their respective areas. A good case in point is Baguio City with a September re-opening target schedule. We must, however, emphasize that there must be proper and close coordination between the national government and the LGUs regarding the implementation of health and safety protocols when travelling.
On the issue of the Manila Bay rehabilitation, per the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the report that “white sand” is being used to fill the stretch of the baywalk is erroneous. DENR added “crushed dolomite boulders” would be utilized for the aforesaid project. This forms part of the cleaning up of the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program with an allocated budget, which began even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
