Dumping of Garbage Resume in City’s Dumpsite

Baguio City – The city’s dump facility has returned to normal operation after a consultation meeting was held right in front of the closed gate of the dumping area yesterday, July 19, 2008. The city government, represented by its city administrator has won the hearts and minds of the protesting residents of which both party have agreed to allow garbage trucks to unload tons of garbage left uncollected for five days.

The verbal agreement is only good for one week just to ease the city of eyesore brought by stinking garbage littered around the city. This temporary solution was recommended to the affected residents based on the promises made by the city administrator that they will address the problem discreetly and with urgency.

Hopefully, this time the city government will come up with a comprehensive and long term solution to finally close the dumpsite issue once and for all. It can be recalled that past and present elected officials have broken their promises for how many times. They were remiss in their sworn duties and responsibilities to manage the city’s garbage problem.

Millions of pesos were allocated for the implementation of R.A.9003 or the Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. But not a single development could be seen at the dump facility. They constructed a composting plant inside the dumping area but became a white elephant. Its usefulness is a woeful 30%-40% operational capacity. This is a common situation in a third world country like the Philippines.

RP President Unites Administration Political Parties for 2010 Election

Baguio City – President Gloria Arroyo together with her political allies in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and big party mates from around the country have formalized the merger of the two administration political parties in a regional meeting held in Baguio City yesterday.

The ruling party LAKAS-CMD and KAMPI, the Philippines’ two big political parties, were united in what could be seen as preparation for the coming general elections in 2010. The president in a speech delivered before her staunch allies and supporters promised that the Philippines will achieved the first world status in years to come only if her party mates wins in 2010 for the continuity of her government policies which was questioned before the bar of public opinion since the day she grabbed power from a legitimate sitting president.

The dreaming president is all agog in her speech and she was excited to announce that the solidification of their political parties will bring them to victory and remain an occupant in Malacanang Palace- the seat of power and endless greed. The political posturing is heating-up this early and once again the political idols starting to step down from their rich and anti poor get-up to sweet talk the gullible, ignorant and idolater citizens.

Poor Philippines, when are we going to go the distance of progress and prosperity? When are we going to savor the fruit of complete success and abundance? When are we going to get justice and just right? When are we going to get complete deliverance from evil? And when are we going to escape from total darkness and to finally see the light of absolute emancipation?

Disastrous Prediction Fails

Brazilian psychic Jucelino Nobrega da Luz faltered in his prophesy. His prediction about a devastating earthquake that will bring disaster to the Philippine Archipelago did not materialize. Although it’s now 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon (local time) before the country reach the normal 24 hours time frame, no reported earthquake or relevant matter that would suggest that da Luz’s prediction really happened. Whether the prediction was true or not, the mainstream media took it seriously by interviewing concerned government officials asking if the national government is ready to face another big disaster. What contingency measures would be taken in case of an 8.2 earthquake hit the Philippines as predicted by da Luz. The Brazilian did sent jitters to the public for days looking ahead of what might occur this 18th of July, a Friday. But thank God Friday is moving slowly without any report of untoward incidents or big disaster that would compel people to believe Jucelino “the prophet of doom.”

Idolatry

The culture connected with excessive admiration is called idolatry. The practice of this culture varies in different perspective from religion, politics, entertainment, sports and other weird idolatrous persuasions or passions. In this real world, many people consider everything as true which they presumed can be realized by excessively admiring personalities who they believe could help them make a difference in their personal lives.
The psyche of the people towards idolatry was unchanged and was passed from generation to generation. The only difference now is that pop culture reversed the old fashioned form of idolatry. Modernity helped people to go into extreme idolatrous activities by adhering and following their idols’ popularity and cause.
Blinded of what they believe is right and true, the idolaters were like remote controlled robots operated by their idols using their popularity, fame, wealth and their deceiving intellectual mooring. The idols take no time in using their blinded followers for their personal interests in the guise of being nice and available to them.
In the Philippines millions of extreme admirers or idolaters love their croc politicos, entertainment and sport personalities. These idolaters helped worsen the country’s political, social, environmental and economic condition. They choose to send their idols to elective positions in government even though their idols lack credibility, morality, competence and the ability to serve the nation with utmost diligence and propriety.
Two years and months from now, political posturing of the idols has just begun. A bench-warmer senator-actor had announced days ago that he will be vying for the vice presidency in 2010 general elections. Boxing champ Pacquiao had also turned-on the green light to run again in congress. The idols of old political families, warlords, gambling lords and drug lords will also crowd the election with familiarity and regularity.
This scenario is scary because idolatry is embedded in the psyches of the Filipino nation and the only hope is for God to make a divine intervention so as to awaken the idolaters from a long slumber of make-believe.

Baguio City’s Garbage Problem Worsen

But since last Monday (July 14, 2008) when the protest action started, no immediate resolution was made even after negotiation and informal talks between parties were conducted. The city mayor is a no show in every meeting called by the protesters. Only those lower in ranks managed to face and made dialogs with the residents.

So what came next was a bigger problem for the entire city because uncollected garbage spread randomly in and around the city. The central business district is in a messy state with all the garbage piling up high in busy roads and streets. The City of Pines now stinks and the locals seem not paying attention on their responsibilities to carefully manage properly their waste disposal.

Pro-Life Activists Oppose Reproductive Health Care Bill

Pro-life activists headed by the Catholic Church thumbs down a proposed bill regarding population management which will slacken the growing populations of the Philippines. Congressmen endorsed Reproductive Health Care Bill at the lower House of Representatives in the belief that their pet Bill will address the issue of HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancy, illiteracy, malnutrition, unemployment and poverty.

The Bill, according to the proponents who were called anti-life by some Catholic Bishops, guaranteed that it will not encourage abortion but will support artificial methods to attain population management without breaking responsible parenting and reproductive health of individuals engage in a relationship.

The Philippines has the highest birth rate in Asia and the country’s over population breeds poverty. The country has no population policy because majority of the politicians are afraid of the Catholic Church. To displease the church is a political suicide and so their hands tied and lips sealed when it comes to population management issue.

The Bishops have warned those who endorsed the Bill and promised not to give pols Holy Communion and thrashing in elections. But the congressmen who sponsor the Bill were steadfast in their resolve to pass the Reproductive Health Care Bill.

The pols questioned the intentions of the Bishops and throw the debate on why the church is not doing enough to help the growing problem of abandoned and unwanted children, street urchins and the illiterate and malnourished sons and daughters of urban and rural poor. And yet the Catholic Church is against population management where it could lessen social maladies and uplift the lives of millions of poor Filipinos trapped in poverty and absolute neglect.

Residents Calling for Dumpsite Closure Enters Second Day of Protest

Baguio City – Heavy rains and cold wind did not prevent protesting residents from barricading the main entrance of dump facility in Irisan Barangay. The protest action is now on its second day and it may continue indefinitely until local officials resolve the matter with urgency.

The anticipation of fear enveloping the residents of what might happen to the mountain high garbage had inevitably occurred. This, after one residence was almost buried when large portion of garbage eroded because of continued heavy rains early this morning (July 15, 2008) local time. The affected residents are afraid of continuing danger if the open dumpsite remains in operation.

This is what city officials failed to consider for years. They just let the problem goes out of hand. The dumpsite is now over its maximum capacity and continues to pile up high like a man made mountain ready to cause damage or destroy lives and properties in the neighborhoods.

Limited actions were taken by past and present local officials on the garbage problem issue. All they could do is to circumvent the law until the day had come when affected residents began to barricade the gate of dump facility to block garbage trucks from entering the premises to unload city and residential wastes.

Because of this, uncollected garbage is seen all over the place especially in central business district like the famed Session Road which is undergoing facelift in preparation for the city’s centennial celebration next year.Dismayed pedestrians could only express disgust as they pass through the American inspired road.

Residents Prevents Dump Trucks from Entering Dump Facility

Affected residents of Irisan and Asin Rd. Barangay (village) barricaded the gate of the open dump facility to prevent dump trucks from entering the area. The residents started to converge in the area at exactly 4:30 in the early morning of 14 July 2008 to protest the city government lack of action to finally close the said dump facility in compliance to Republic Act 9003 otherwise known as The Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

The Philippine Congress passed the law to ease the growing problem of garbage all over the country. With its encompassing provisions to protect the country’s environment, all local government units were mandated to abide by the law to close all existing open dump facilities in their respective area of responsibility.

On paper, the law is entirely good but actual enforcement is something not easy for local officials to do. The city mayor failed to implement R.A.9003 because he was dilly-dallying in his stance whether to close the dumping area or not. Although the city government had made a policy of waste segregations in all the Barangay, compliance rate is very low.

For this, all mixed garbage collected in and around the city ends up in open dumpsite for waste pickers to scavenge. Ironically, every dump truck has banner of its own with words such as non-biodegradable, biodegradable, recyclable, but actually loaded with none segregated waste products from households and business establishments.

The continuing operation of open dumpsite is too much to bear. Blocking those dump trucks from entering the area is the only way to let the good mayor know that the city is violating Republic Act 9003 which has been challenged for years.

Water-Powered Car Invention Ignored For Decades by RP Government

Before Honda could unveil its water-powered car last June 2008, the same idea or know-how was already developed by a Filipino inventor in the 80’s. It was Mr. Daniel Dingle who was probably the first man to make an antidote programmed to reduce the world’s “addiction to oil” the popular Bush quotation referring to America’s OPEC oil dependence.

Mr. Dingle was full of hope during the time of his discovery and he was even featured in a number of occasions in radio, TV, newsmagazines and other publications. He demonstrated his water-powered car to investigative reporters and doubting Thomases without any hint of fraud.

He let doubters to actually see and test personally his machine running on water. But despite of his repeated claim of success which could help his country lessen dependence from imported fuel, he was ignored by the Department Of Science and Technology and the government itself.

Instead of giving him full support, the government and the private sector coldly downplayed his invention and even called Mr. Daniel Dingle crazy. He was ridiculed for showing his determination to defy the odds, for going against the severe addiction to oil. Fortunately for him, Mr. Dingle gained trust and confidence from foreigners who were interested in his invention. All he could do then was to turndown the tempting offer.

In a TV interview on Mr. Dingle days ago, he grudgingly criticized the government for not supporting his useful invention. To his dismay, he said that he is now ready to sell his invention to any interested foreign buyers in a condition that 200 Filipino nationals will be hired by anyone who could successfully make a deal with Mr. Daniel Dingle.

A Self-Proclaimed Prophet of Doom Spreading Fear of Doomsday

A pseudo soothsayer or psychic from Brazil is spreading fear of a great disaster that would hit the Philippines this coming 18^th of July 2008. According to Jucelino Nobrega da Luz (the self-proclaimed prophet of doom) the country will be facing a devastating earthquake with an intensity 8 magnitude.

His doomsday prediction spread like wildfire in e-mails, the internet and the mainstream media which greatly affected the people whether to take it seriously or not. Concerned government agencies have calmed its citizens not to worry because nobody is capable of predicting any impending earthquake or great disaster.

The certainty that no disaster will happen this July failed to convince some sectors especially that deadly calamities frequently hits the Philippines. Another great disaster like earthquake at this time could bring the country to its knees.

The people are just hoping that the Brazilian psychic is wrong and his improvable prediction ends in the gutter of falsehood prophecy. Earlier reports have said that Jucelino Nobrega da Luz gained prominence worldwide because of his psychic ability to predict future events, disastrous events for that matter.

But many people from around the world have questioned his credibility and personality. He was accused of being a false prophet globetrotting the world and doing an errand by spreading his psychic power to predict future events. Last year, he planed in to Japan for a TV interview which he attracted the gullible audience, viewers and some of his ardent followers and believers. Hopefully his frightening prediction about the Philippines would not occur in the 3^rd Friday of this month.