Going, going…

WHAT was once a beautiful sight to behold in the late afternoons and early evening, from the vantage point of Roxas Boulevard is going, going…soon gone.

The re-blocking, whatever that means, of Manila’s famous seaside boulevard has caused heavy traffic, but it also allows one to pause and look at the bay where our fabled sunset, especially from December till early March, comes in a huge orb of orange glory.

While doing my regular brisk walks either in the boulevard’s cramped sidewalk, or near the earlier reclamation areas of the Cultural Center complex and the MOA, I come across the ugly sight of islands of gray sand being feverishly dumped into the bay by barges and cranes – to “reclaim” land from the sea.

Manila Bay used to be the back view of beautiful Sofitel, with its huge swimming pool and garden area, appreciated as well from the western suites of the hotel. Now all you can see is gray sand, barged in from Zambales or the San Nicolas shoal.

Some enterprising businessmen leased property adjacent to Sofitel from the CCP, put up a hotel and eateries where patrons could view the sea and the setting sun. Now their customers reap ugly gray sand when a strong wind blows, which is almost always.

In late 2008, the Supreme Court issued an SC Mandamus on Manila Bay, directing 13 government agencies to clean up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay, even to the extent of stating that its waters must be “fit for swimming, skindiving and other forms of recreation.”