Palace: Marcos has no hand in dolomite beach probe

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has nothing to do with the investigation of the House of Representatives into the Manila Bay dolomite beach project, Malacañang announced yesterday.

Marcos will not intervene in the probe into the artificial beach project, which was implemented during the Duterte administration, according to Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro.

She maintained that the President respects the independence of the lower chamber and would not meddle in the lawmakers’ mandate.

“First of all, there is a separation of powers between Congress and the executive. So whatever work the House of Representatives will take in investigating the dolomite beach, that is their job,” Castro said.

“The President will not prevent any steps regarding that. The probe could also determine if there really was an anomaly, if the project caused flooding in Metro Manila,” Castro added.

House committee on public accounts chairman Rep. Terry Ridon set the hearing on Nov. 17.

“Before they accuse that the President is behind the dolomite beach probe, they should prove it first. If we will just speculate, that would be unfair to him,” Castro told reporters.

She denied that the investigation into the dolomite beach project is politically motivated.

“Does it mean that when a project was done during the previous administration, it should not be investigated because otherwise it will be considered as politicizing? That doesn’t seem right,” Castro said.

In July, Ridon sought an inquiry into the status of the dolomite beach project amid massive flooding in Manila.

Built in 2020, the dolomite beach was never part of the Manila Bay rehabilitation master plan, according to Ridon.