MANILA — Philippine authorities’ latest efforts to clean up Manila Bay, one of the country’s most polluted bodies of water, has come under fire after they dumped truckloads of white sand over the shoreline at the end of August.

Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno celebrated what he called a long-delayed rehabilitation move, but the artificial sand — crushed dolomite boulders from a quarry in Cebu province in the central Philippines — drew a backlash from environmental groups and public officials.

Environmentalists say the project passed over the public consultation phase and lacked the necessary environmental impact studies. Lawmakers and public officials have called it a waste of resources that could have been diverted to supplement the country’s pandemic health response and provide gadgets for public school students grappling with online learning.

“This project is not timely,” Gloria Estenzo Ramos, executive director of marine conservation NGO Oceana Philippines, said in an online press conference. “This will be a total waste of people’s money. Government resources should be allocated more to helping Filipinos affected by the pandemic.