More of Manila Bay beach open to public

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila Bay Coordinating Office (MBCO) yesterday said it is ready to admit a large number of people at the Dolomite Beach after learning that most of the visitors are interested in watching the sunset.

MBCO deputy executive director Jacob Meimban Jr. said theyhave plans to extend the beach area that was initially opened to the public.

“During last weekend when the beach re-opened, we gave them access to some 140 meters or 8,000 square meters of the Dolomite Beach area. If we see that a much larger number of people are going in, we are ready to open up to some 300 meters or 12,000 square meters – that is 1.2 hectares,” he said.

Concerned agencies led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources earlier observed that on the first day the beach was re-opened, there were around 8,000 visitors.

“The following day, which is a Sunday, that number tripled since we monitored some 25,000 visitors that day. And consecutive days after that, we recorded more or less 20,000 sightseers per day,” Meimban said.

He said that over the past five days, visitors stayed for only one to two hours.

Meimban said there would be a surge of visitors starting at around 5 p.m. “That is the crucial time because we learned that many want to see the sunset in the bay area,” he added.

The Dolomite Beach reopened on Oct. 17 after quarantine restrictions were eased in Metro Manila under Alert Level 3.

Meimban said the beach’s purpose is to help people relax following several lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.