Polluted stretch of Manila Bay ‘cleaned’ with fake sand

False front: A file photo showing workers spreading artificial sand at Manila Bay. — AP

Residents of the Philippines’ capital flocked to an artificial white sand beach that the government has transformed from a polluted stretch of shoreline to mark International Coastal Cleanup day.

Despite opposition from environmental campaigners, President Rodrigo Duterte’s government has filled a 500m stretch of coastline beside the United States embassy in Manila with sand made from tonnes of crushed dolomite boulders from central Philippines.