Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 11221

Labor chief fires back at detractors

LABOR Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III on Wednesday said he will pursue legal charges in connection with recent controversies thrown at him.
“I am left with no recourse but to do what is legal and proper under the circumstances. All of you detractors, I’ll see you in court,” Mr. Bello said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
Also present in Mr. Bello’s press briefing were Labor Undersecretaries Joel B. Maglunsod, Claro A. Arellano, and Renato L. Ebarle, recently appointed to his post. Labor Undersecretary Jacinto V. Paras, who’s reported to have a rift with the labor chief, was not among them.
On Wednesday, recruitment agency owner Amanda Lalic-Araneta claimed in an interview with reporters that she gave Mr. Bello P100,000 and an iPhone as a gift. She also claimed that he demanded P10-15 million pesos to approve the license for MMML Recruitment Services, Inc. of which she is president.
Ms. Lalic-Araneta has brought her allegations against Mr. Bello to the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), soon after after Monalie Dizon of the Kilusang Pagbabago National Movement for Change filed graft charges against the labor chief also before the PACC.
Mr. Bello said the license for Ms. Lalic-Araneta’s firm “was cancelled not by me but by the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration),” adding that he had nothing to do with the cancellation.
He said she sought him “to ask me to reconsider the cancellation of her license and I promised a case, provided if she files a motion for consideration. According to her, she filed a motion for consideration pero di ko pa nakikita ang motion for consideration na yun (but I haven’t seen that motion for consideration yet).”
Mr. Bello said that “(b)efore her motion could come to me,” he received “a report from NICA (National Intelligence Coordinating Agency)” that her agency was “involved in recruiting underaged women.”
“I asked NICA to submit additional facts to support their allegation,” Mr. Bello said, adding that the intelligence agency gave him another report which he forwarded to the POEA.
“Hindi totoo na iniipit ko lisensya niya (It’s not true that I’m keeping her license on hold),” Mr. Bello said.
Mr. Bello declined for now who he will charge in court. “As soon as I confer with my lawyer and (collect) the evidence,” he said.
“Go to court and sue me if you have any evidence against me,” he added. “You are clearly engaged (in) trial by publicity.”
Regarding his Ombudsman application, Mr. Bello said his case with the Department of Justice, which was cited in his disqualification by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), has been pending for seven years.
“There was a case filed against me as early as 2012. Seven years ago, I was charged (with) syndicated estafa as a chairman of the board of an alleged corporation,” the labor chief said.
“I filed my counter-affidavit,” he said, on which he wrote, “Wala akong alam na korporasyon na ako ay(I don’t know any corporation that I am a) member (of) board of directors, at lalong lalo na wala akong alam na korporasyon na ako ay (and most especially I don’t know a corporation of which I am) chairman of the board. To support my allegation, I presented the articles of incorporation of the said corporation at wala po akong pangalan sa (my name is not on the) board.”
“If they had that case against me, why did they not (ask) me about the case?” Mr. Bello said of his interview with the JBC.
“In fairness to the JBC, hindi ko kinikwestyon ang pagpili nila ng nominees (I do not question their choices for nominees). That is their privilege,” he added.
“But the process, I think, was very unfair. They denied me due process,” Mr. Bello also said. — G. M. Cortez

Palace: Duterte to visit Israel and Kuwait

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
Malacañang on Wednesday, July 25, announced that President Rodrigo R. Duterte is set to visit Israel in September this year.
In a text message to Palace reporters, Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher “Bong” T. Go said, “There will still be a joint official announcement on the dates in September.”
In another text message, Mr. Go said that in October, the President may also visit Kuwait.
“October pa Kuwait depende sa availability ng Emir,” he said.
(The President’s visit to Kuwait will be in October, depending on the availability of the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.)
The Times of Israel reported last Tuesday that “an Israeli official” has confirmed “the Philippines’ controversial president, Rodrigo Duterte, is due in Israel in early September.”
The Israeli news site also quoted the Yedioth Ahronoth, a national daily newspaper, as saying that Mr. Duterte “will sign agreements about Philippine nationals who provide long-term care in the Jewish state and combating drug trafficking.”
“He and his Israeli interlocutors are expected to discuss establishing a direct flight route between Israel and the Philippines, agricultural cooperation and security deals,” The Times of Israel also said.
Last month, Mr. Duterte hinted that he might visit Kuwait because all of his demands have been granted. “I think I’ll go there. I’d like to thank the Kuwaiti government for understanding us, keeping their faith in us, and practically giving all of my demands,” he said in his speech during his meeting with the Filipino community in South Korea on June 3.
He also said the Filipino workers in Kuwait will now be allowed to enjoy a day off, keep their passports, and cook their own food, among others.

Nationwide Round-Up

DepEd chief worried as higher pay in gov’t schools pulling in teachers from private institutions

PHILSTAR

DEPARTMENT OF Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor M. Briones on Wednesday said several private elementary and secondary schools in the Philippines are closing down because of the migration of teachers and students to government schools.
“The [reason is that] teachers’ salary from the private schools are not competitive anymore with the salaries of public school teachers. This is not something the public is not totally aware of. You remove the five leading private schools who can happily survive with or without government assistance, but think of private schools in your provinces, Catholic and Protestant schools and they cannot compete with the salaries of the public school teachers,” Ms. Briones said in an economic press briefing at the Palace.
The average salary for the public school teachers, according to the DepEd chief, is “P21,000 plus two months vacation leave, two weeks Christmas vacation, and all other benefits.”
In contrast, “Small private schools, I have gone to private schools, the starting salary is from P6,000, P8,000, to P9,000,” she cited.
“The private sector cannot catch up with that (government rates). So, usually, after young graduates pass the board examinations for teachers, they move on and apply to the public sector. This is what I call a ‘migration’, and this is a serious policy concern,” she added.
Asked what can be done to save the private schools, she said: “What can be done is what is being done right now. There are schools, if they make a presentation, if it is a reasonable presentation, they are allowed to increase their tuition fees. The CHEd (Commission on Higher Education) does that also, but the law says that any increase in tuition, 70% has to go to the increase in the salary of teachers. But there have to be other ways by which private school teachers can be persuaded to stay at a small private school.”
As for the scarcity of teachers, Ms. Briones said: “It’s not so much scarcity, the reason is we are reducing the sizes of classes. You used to report in your childhood and youth about classrooms with 70-80 pupils. We are reducing it to a minimum of 45. To be able to do that, we need more teachers. We introduced also the senior high school program. In the senior high school program, we need different kinds of teachers. Before, we relied on academically-trained teachers; this time we need teachers with different skills. You also have a lot of catching up to do. So, I will not describe it fully as a shortage but as a reordering.”
On the proposal of the private school administrators to create a bureau for private schools that would look into their concerns, Ms. . Briones said she is unsure for now.
“Right now, we have to study that…,very carefully, because we will have to ask more taxes from you to create an additional bureau. When a law is passed, you can be sure there is always a financial implication. When a policymaker opens his or her mouth and says we are giving this to the public, there is a financial implication; and at the end of the day, it goes back to us, to our taxes.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

120,000 deaths annually attributed to air pollution

HEALTH AND environment advocates have warned that air pollution contributes to 120,000 deaths in the country every year.
“In the Philippines, about 120,000 die annually because of air pollution, putting the country as second in the Asia-Pacific Region in terms of mortality rate,” air pollution watchdog Heath Care for Clean Air said in a statement of commitment signed during Wednesday’s launch of an alliance for cleaner air.
The alliance is led by the organization Health Care without Harm Asia (HCWH).
“Air pollution is not just a problem — it is a health menace too,” HCWH Executive Director Ramon San Pascual said.
“We know that at some point, we have to put up a health air alliance that would (push for the) need to improve the air pollution standard,” Mr. San Pascual said.
“It’s about time,” he added.
HCWH cited a World Health Organization (WHO) report released in May indicating that “7 million premature deaths due to air pollution, a third, or 2.2 million, were from the Western Pacific Region, which includes the Philippines.”
Heart disease and stroke contributed to most of these deaths, along with other ailments such as chronic pulmonary disease, lung cancer, pneumonia.
HCWH also reported that the “Philippines ranked third in the number of deaths at 45.3 per 100,000 due to outdoor air pollution. China recorded 81.5 and Mongolia 48.8 respectively.”
The WHO report said “inefficient energy use in households, industries, the agriculture and transport sectors, as well as coal-fired power plants” are the main causes of “outdoor air pollution.”
Dr. Rogelio V. Dazo, outgoing CAMANAVA governor of the Philippine Medical Association, said, “We cannot afford to lose our countrymen to preventable health problems.”
He added, “It is time for us to start demanding for better air quality standards in order to protect our dear kababayans, and the health sector should take active part in supporting the government to do that.”
President Rodrigo R. Duterte, in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, said that “Protection of the environment must be top priority.”
Mr. San Pascual stressed that even with the Clean Air Act of 1999 and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, “What is forgotten is action to carry out laws.” — Gillian M. Cortez

Coal spill

WORKERS mobilized by Holcim Philippines, Inc. clean up the shores of Quirino, Bacnotan in La Union on July 20 after coal spilled from the company’s cement factory. Holcim, in a statement, said: “The heavy rain experienced in the evening of July 13, 2018, caused water coming from the mountain to create a gap in the benched wall pushing coal from the stockpile and thereby diverting from the siltation pond and into the shoreline.” The company said most of the clean-up, with help from community volunteers, has been completed as of July 25. Environmental group Greenpeace, meanwhile, said nearby residents are not aware of the use of coal in the cement facility.

Rehabilitation center

JAPANESE and local officials led by Japan’s Ambassador Koji Haneda and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chief Representative Yoshido Wada break ground on July 19 for a Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center that will be built in Trece Martires City. The facility, targeted to be operational by 2020, is one of the Grant Aid for Budget Support worth 1.85 billion yen (about P863 million) concluded between JICA and the Philippine government under the Programme for Consolidated Rehabilitation of Illegal Drug Users (CARE) Project.

Cebu needs more MICE facilities — Colliers survey

ASIDE FROM building more hotel rooms in Cebu to accommodate the anticipated surge in tourist arrivals, Cebu is being encouraged to increase the capacity for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions). A market survey conducted by Canadian consultancy firm, Colliers International Philippines showed that Cebu’s appeal as both leisure and business destinations attracts more MICE organizers abroad, specifically from the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region. “We see the regional event further boosting Cebu’s overall hotel occupancy in 2019 and raising Cebu’s stature as a MICE destination in the region,” Collier’s forecasted. Hotels near the expanded Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) are preferred venues for major events and should maximize this advantage over hotels located at the Cebu Business and IT Park by expanding and building new MICE facilities. — The Freeman
>> See full story on https://goo.gl/sRNyT4

Marawi locals form ‘conflict watch’ group for reconstruction program

RESIDENTS AND other stakeholders formally launched on Wednesday, July 25, the Marawi Reconstruction Conflict Watch (MRCW), an independent and neutral group that aims to engage all agencies involved in the rebuilding of war-torn Marawi City.
The MRCW members include families affected by the conflict, internally-displaced businesses, religious leaders, community leaders including women and the youth, academia, and non-government organization (NGO) representatives.
Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM), the government arm leading the rehabilitation process, had previously announced that it will begin reconstruction of the city’s most affected area in late August.
In a statement released yesterday in time for the group’s launch, Sultan Nasser D. Sampaco, member of the MRCW and chairman of the Marawi Sultanate League, said they intend to harness the people’s “deep understanding of the local context and the web of formal and informal institutions that govern the city” to ensure that the rebuilding process is “people-centered, informed by best practices, and conflict-sensitive.”
Mr. Sampaco said “meaningful local participation will not only foster trust and help prevent violent conflict, it will also nuance and sharpen government responses to ensure positive outcomes.”
Nikki de la Rosa, country manager of peace-building organization International Alert Philippines, said the MRCW was born out of a series of dialogues that International Alert conducted with clan members, together with the World Bank and the TFBM in April and July.
“The clan consultations provided an opportunity for people to voice out their aspirations and anxieties about the reconstruction process and for their opinions to be heard, understood, and accepted. The people had clamored for this momentum of engagement to be sustained in a feedback loop among stakeholders,” Ms. De la Rosa said.
Among the issues raised are the possibility of revenge killings due to the loss of lives, properties, livelihoods and businesses; land-related conflict that may re-ignite during the period of reoccupation of the main-affected area; push back against government if the amount, allocation and release of reparation and compensation package and the provision of public works and basic services are deemed unjust; and violent extremist tapping into local grievances to expand recruitment.
Dr. Fedelinda Booc Tawagon, another MRCW member and president of Dansalan College, said the MRCW will regularly meet with concerned agencies to assess the economic, political, social, and cultural effects of the reconstruction process from awarding of the Joint Venture Agreement with the developer, the construction proper, return of the residents of the most affected area, and post-reconstruction.
Dansalan College, the only Christian school that operated in the Islamic City of Marawi, was burned by the Maute group and completely destroyed by government airstrikes during the five-month siege in 2017.
“It is an emotional time for all of us, seeing that our homes, businesses, schools, and communities, the result of sleepless nights, of passion and commitment, of industry and frugality, and of a lot of sweat, blood and tears, were reduced to rubble. But we are pledging our collective knowledge, expertise, deep experience, and fortitude in the cause of conflict-proofing the economic, social, cultural, and political transition during the Marawi reconstruction process, and rebuilding relationships of peoples,” Ms. Tawagon said.
International Alert Philippines’ Peace and Conflict Adviser for Asia Francisco Lara, Jr. said their role is to provide timely data and analysis to the MRCW to ensure evidence-based approaches and strategies.
The NGO will also link the MRCW with an experts action group composed of auditors, engineers, development and conflict specialists, among others, who will give input on issues and help the people decide on their recommendations.

Basilan governor to Isabela City: Think about joining Bangsamoro region now

THE GOVERNOR of the island province of Basilan said it is time for Isabela City to start thinking about becoming part of what will be a new Bangsamoro territory, which is seen to provide more opportunities for development. Gov. Hadjiman S. Hataman-Saliman said it “is high-time for the people of Isabela to realize and to think about it.” He added, “The truth is, if we look at Basilan in terms of development, those who are developing are those areas under the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)… In term of horizontal infrastructures and intervention of development Isabela is left behind.” Basilan, a province under the ARMM, is composed of 11 municipalities and two cities. Isabela City, located on the northwestern part of the island, did not vote to become a part of the ARMM and remains under the political juridiction of the Zamboanga Peninsula region. The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) has been ratified by both chambers of Congress and is now awaiting the President’s signature. Under the BOL, a plebiscite will be held for areas outside the ARMM that might become part of the new Bangsamoro area. — Albert F. Arcilla

Nation at a Glance — (07/26/18)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Assessing two years of Duterte energy policies

For the past two years, the Duterte administration has produced a mix of bad and good policies from the perspective of market-oriented reforms envisioned in the EPIRA law of 2001.
Four recent stories in BusinessWorld would serve as jump-off points of this assessment:

1. Finance dep’t studying carbon-emissions tax (July 20).

2. Flawed DoE assumption results in baseload bloat (July 16) By Roberto Verzola.

3. More flaws in the DoE plan raise baseload bloat to 103% (July 23) By Roberto Verzola.

4. Our looming electricity shortage (July 23) By Ramon L. Clarete.

From #1: DoF Usec Karl Chua said “such taxes are in force in places like the UK, where the tax on diesel represents about 70-80% of the fuel’s retail price. In the Philippines, the tax is equivalent to 5% of retail.”
From #2: “This baseload bloat will lead to stranded assets in the future because those recently constructed coal and nuclear plants will be unable to sell half of their output.”
From #3: “Steadily dropping solar prices will make market-driven solar penetration inevitable. The rising solar share in the capacity mix will initially displace peaking and midrange flexible plants.”
From #4: “Currently, power reserves are at their lowest level, which is 10% of peak demand. The level used to be twice that but even at the higher level, reserves are even lower compared to those in neighboring countries… the prices of coal and petroleum are high… There is big appetite of private investors to invest in LNG-related infrastructure.”
First of all, adding a new “carbon emissions tax” will further distort the energy market because the higher energy taxation under TRAIN law is already wrong. The tax hikes in oil, LPG, and coal have significantly contributed to the country’s current high inflation rate. And that’s just the first round.
The second and third round of the tax increases will be imposed on January 2019 and January 2020, respectively.
Second, there is no “baseload bloat” as claimed by Verzola. The Philippines actually has a “baseload lack” so the current DoE approval of adding more coal plants to the grid is a good policy.
Philippine coal use of only 13 million tons oil equivalent (mtoe) in 2017 is small compared to our neighbors. Malaysia with a population less than 1/3 of the Philippines has coal consumption of 20 mtoe, Vietnam has more than 2x with 28 mtoe, South Korea with one-half of the Philippines’ population has uses coal seven times more than we do, on top of having substantial nuclear power capacity.
Thus, there will never be coal “stranded assets in the future,” even for countries with plans to shift away from coal like South Korea and Japan.
From 2010 to 2017, South Korea’s coal use increased from 76 to 86 mtoe while Japan’s increased from 116 to 121 mtoe over the same period.
Three, “steadily dropping solar prices” have not resulted in cheaper solar energy as evidenced by the continued rise in feed-in-tariff (FIT) rates per kWh for solar 1st batch (granted in 2015): P9.68 in 2015, 9.91 in 2016, P10.26 in 2017, 10.68 in 2018, or 2x the average WESM prices of P5+/kWh in first half of 2018. So the Duterte/DoE policy of not adding more MW capacity for expensive solar-wind energy is good.
Four, Dr. Clarete’s observation on limited reserves is correct and further contradicts the assertion of Mr. Verzola. But Clarete’s “prices of coal and petroleum are high” is not true all the time, prices go up and down and up and hence, are generally temporary. For instance, coal Asian Marker Price (AMP) was $125/ton in 2011 and down to half in 2015, and then rose again to nearly $100/ton in 2017 (see table).
Fossil Fuel prices and Coal consumption
Inviting private investments, not government, in LNG terminal is a welcome development. DoE should shy away from committing huge taxpayers’ money to develop expensive infrastructure for private power players.
Five, not in recent news but the transition of WESM operation to an Independent Market Operator (IMO) has materialized under the current administration, 17 years after the EPIRA law, a milestone.
I have attended the official announcement by DoE Sec. Cusi last June 25, 2018 at Crowne Plaza Galleria where Atty. Saturnino Juan has been elected as the first President of IMO.
Six, continued bottlenecks in electricity transmission continues until today and this is bad news.
During the Energy Policy and Development Program (EPDP) book launching and sort of “farewell lecture” last week July 19 at the UP School of Statistics, the problem of transmission bottlenecks was among the issues discussed.
As a result, even if investors put up several power plants, their electricity output will never reach the distribution utilities and end-users because of the lack of transmission lines.
As I mentioned earlier, two years under the Duterte administration has resulted in both good and bad energy policies for the country.
We should continue to support the first and rectify the second.
 
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is President of Minimal Government Thinkers, a member-institute of Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia.
minimalgovernment@gmail.com.

The Prime Minister scenario

On Monday, Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was elected by her peers as Speaker of the House of Representatives, to replace Davao Del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez. And with that, from three “Mindanaoans” heading the government in 2016-2018, we are now down to one. Ahead of Alvarez losing the Speakership, Senator Koko Pimentel had lost the Senate Presidency.
And now a scenario is bandied about that there is something significantly more sinister to installing Mrs. Arroyo as Speaker, as opposed to many lawmakers simply being upset with Alvarez and his leadership style. The present development is allegedly the prelude to Mrs. Arroyo becoming Prime Minister under a Federal government with a unicameral legislature.
Perhaps we are reading too much into the Speakership fight, which is not unusual in politics. And while Mrs. Arroyo may not be popular now, she was at one point in her political career the darling of the crowd. It is also logical for her to succeed Speaker Alvarez given her seniority and the fact that she was Deputy Speaker from Aug. 15, 2016 to March 15, 2017.
The other way of looking at the situation is that Mrs. Arroyo may be the only one in the House with more than enough gravitas to mount a coup against Alvarez and get away with it. For I highly doubt if Alvarez’s allies will choose to pick a fight with her. And not unlike Alvarez, she is aligned with the President as well, also being a member of his PDP-Laban Party since 2017.
In short, despite Mrs. Arroyo taking over from Speaker Alvarez, not much has really changed, in my opinion. The ruling party’s leadership is intact. The President has not exactly lost his allies in the House. And the legislative agenda is nowhere nearer getting done had Alvarez retained the Speakership. Personalities have changed, but not much else.
As for becoming Prime Minister, it is a little too early to tell.
As Senate President Tito Sotto had noted, let’s wait and see how things will play out, and for the agenda for the Speakership change to be revealed.
But other than the support of fewer than 200 lawmakers at the House, it doesn’t seem like Mrs. Arroyo has much else going for her in this regard.
For one, she is on her last term as congresswoman, having been elected initially in 2010. By the time Congress opens anew around the same time next year, she will no longer be in office. Also, she is now 71 years old. She is not as young and as dynamic as she used to be. She has also become highly unpopular, particularly among the younger voters, considering the way her presidency ended in 2010.
The legislative and election calendars are also not in her favor. The filing of candidacies for the May 2019 elections is already in October, or two months from now. And we all know that once filing ends, the “fiesta” starts. The election season comes and lasts until after May 2019, with the legislative agenda becoming secondary to political agenda.
And Charter change will not happen without a fight. I doubt if the House, even under Mrs. Arroyo, can convene as a constituent assembly.
In terms of timing, it will be tight for the House to consider constitutional amendments. The national budget will have to come first, and then the economic legislative agenda that includes the second phase of tax reform. These two come hand in hand as the legislative calibration is intended to help fund the proposed budget.
The House will have about nine months to consider the legislative agenda, which is effectively only about six months considering the breaks. And this is moving towards an election year. A lot of struggles, negotiating, and bargaining on significant legislation will happen, with each lawmaker angling for the best deal for his or her constituents.
Putting constitutional amendments to a plebiscite vote by May 2019 is highly unlikely. The matter, to date, seems to have become unpopular, with majority of Filipinos reportedly opposed to the idea. Can we expect such an unpopular agenda to succeed in the hands of an unpopular Speaker of the House? Perhaps. But, I don’t think that was truly the agenda behind replacing Alvarez with Mrs. Arroyo.
The move to replace Alvarez, I believe, is more tactical than strategic. It had come to a point, perhaps, that lawmakers will be no longer “happy” and amenable to his leadership. And, it was logical to choose Mrs. Arroyo to take over from him. But, I doubt if there was a longer-term strategy towards federalism and her becoming Prime Minister.
Since 1987, many have tried or attempted to tinker with the Constitution — all without success. The country would have been happy with the 1935 Constitution. If only President Marcos had no designs to stay in power beyond his term limit, there would have been no 1973 Constitution. And it was more in reaction to the 1973 Constitution, and the Marcos presidency, that the 1987 Constitution came about.
That said, I believe many are not yet comfortable with the idea of tinkering with the Constitution yet again. Moreover, I don’t think Filipinos are about to give up the power of directly voting for their president. And with little understanding of what federalism is and what it will bring about, I honestly believe the federalism initiative will fail, regardless of who sits as Speaker.
 
Marvin A. Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council
matort@yahoo.com

Basura ko, sagot ko

The Philippines sits on the typhoon belt in the Pacific and experiences an annual average of 20 typhoons, which cause deaths and agricultural and infrastructure damages.
For instance, during the last few weeks, tropical depressions/storm Henry, Inday, and Josie dumped heavy rain on Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon. They soaked and stranded hundreds of commuters, flooded roads in low-lying areas, and caused evacuation centers to be filled, office and school operations to be suspended, and hospitals to be crowded with patients with water-borne diseases.
trash
Flooding occurs during heavy downpours. Solid waste remains a leading cause of flood and water-borne diseases in Metro Manila. In fact, you may have seen the video footage of garbage along the Manila Bay seawall after heavy rainfall.
Waste generation continues to increase following the ballooning population in the capital. And government, despite its urbanization programs such as creating new central business districts in provinces such as Pampanga and Davao and relocating informal settlers in more habitable communities, cannot keep up with the volume of waste in Metro Manila.
In Manila, garbage is not segregated despite the city’s well-written laws and waste management campaigns.
This problem exists partly because we Filipinos lack a sense of civic duty. According to Justice Antonio Carpio, civic duty refers to our obligation to leave our country a better place than we found it.
Most of us are concerned only with our assets; beyond our possessions, we do not want to take responsibility.
For example, car owners or drivers throw their trash out of car windows instead of keeping it inside their cars and disposing of it properly later. Despite knowing the growing environmental problems, they prioritize the cleanliness of their cars over the cleanliness of the streets. Nevertheless, it is not too late for us — regardless of our socioeconomic class — to learn the importance of keeping our environment clean.
Despite the number of street sweepers during the day, garbage — from food wrappers to big boxes — is present everywhere because no one wants to be responsible for the waste. But having easy access to trash bins may gradually discipline us in properly disposing of our waste. A candy wrapper may be saved from being thrown into the drainage system if garbage containers are just a few steps away.
Thus, laws related to trash bin management should be formulated and implemented. City mayors should provide durable steel trash bins that can be bolted onto sidewalks to prevent their theft. Government offices, private establishments, and local vendors should be required to provide trash bins within their vicinities. These acts will support MMDA Regulation Number 96-009 or the Anti-Littering Law. People will not litter if they have easy access to waste disposal facilities.
Another practice that can help us dispose of our waste properly is the “Clean as You Go” (CLAYGO) system. Fastfood chains, convenience stores, and even small eateries can implement the CLAYGO policy on their own.
These practices can be seen as effective whenever we are inside schools, office buildings, and other private facilities. But when we step out of these exclusive zones, we seem to forget our obligation to our environment!
Government efforts alone cannot change our environment. We need to change our mindsets and habits to achieve a clean environment, which is vital for health and well-being. We need to adopt the “Basura ko, sagot ko” mentality.
A society’s development is judged by its cleanliness. Let us fulfill our civic duty as Filipino citizens so that future generations will still have the resources that we are enjoying today.
 
Angelique C. Blasa is a lecturer at the Management and Organization Department of Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University.
angelique_blasa@yahoo.com

1...11,22011,22111,222...13,233Page 11,221 of 13,233
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube