….. on Climate Change

I am not really comfortable writing about the climate change phenomenon. The reason being is that I am not an environmentalist. I am one of the millions of people who pollute our mother earth. I would really like to mend my ways but in the Kingdom of the Sands (and in the Philippines), there’s no opportunity for well meaning people to change. I know that change comes from within and everyone of us has the capacity to effect change. It would however be very difficult if there’s no support especially from the government or community.

The present problem of climate change did not just come to us overnight. It’s from the years of abuse and neglect on our part. We never realized that the carbon emissions that our factories and vehicles emit will cause a very disturbing effect on our surroundings. We are left to cope with the consequences of global warming. The polar ice caps are melting very fast and that leads to flooding and submerging of low lying land masses. The erratic and unpredictable weather are felt everywhere. We are cutting the trees, our only hope in offsetting carbon emissions. The humankind’s insatiable greed will destroy our planet. Actually, it already did.

Now we have the Copenhagen Accord sponsored by none other than the United States, the world’s number one polluter. The United States did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol but now wants to police the world with their so called Copenhagen Accord. I’ve watched Vandana Shiva’s interview at Al Jazeera and was so impressed in the depth of her knowledge on Climate Change. What the Copenhagen Accord Ms. Shiva said is undoing all the good initiatives that the Kyoto Protocol created. The good talker US President even claimed at the Copenhagen that it is the first initiative that the world created on climate change. Hello!! The world did not revolve after the election of Barack Obama. The world in 1992 already raised this issue followed by the Kyoto Protocol. The beauty of Kyoto Protocol is it’s a binding treaty and almost all the countries ratified it except for the United States.

The United States almost always have a hidden agenda. I think that sponsoring the Copenhagen Accord is their way of avoiding the carbon emission limit. Ang kakapal ng mukha! They’re the reason why the world is suffering climate change. The most affected pa naman in this case are the third world countries. Kaya nga daw outsourcing was introduced in China and India so that those developing countries will bear the carbon footprints of the United States and other highly industrialized countries. They’re not only outsourcing manpower but also the carbon emissions. Oo nga naman. If the factory is in China, naturally the carbon emissions would come from China. The United States and other highly developed countries on the other hand are spared with carbon emissions.

It’s 2010

I still could not believe that it’s already 2010. Grabe! Time flies nga talaga. This is the nth times that I celebrated New Year away from my family. I actually can’t remember the last time I celebrated New Year with them anymore! Good God!

New Year calls for cleansing. You don’t only have to clean your house but your body too. We need to cleanse our body because admit it, we indulged our bodies into the not so healthy foods during the holidays.

I’m very lucky that I have a very small house so that restricts me from accumulating unnecessary stuffs. It’s also easy for me to clean it. This is my 4th house in Saudi Arabia in 8 years. This is also the first time that I did not fit my apartment floor with a carpet. The floor is easier to clean because I just have to wipe it with a damp cloth. The only disadvantage is during the winter season. You have to wear a rubber slippers kay grabe ka tugnaw (it’s so cold) and salug.

And speaking of cleaning, the first week of January is the perfect time for us to review our relationships with people around us. You don’t know you’re hoarding garbage with you. I’m talking about bad people you are surrounding yourself with. You have to throw them away. Ang iba would say, paano? Well, bad relationships and bad people will not end or leave you unless you decide to throw them away. Para lang iyang mga gamit. If you don’t need them, throw them away. You’ll notice that you won’t miss them. You’ll be surprised pa nga kung mare realize mo na umaliwalas ang iyong bahay.

Look who’s talking?

Have you heard of what happened just recently? They call themselves as the mavericks in Politics, identified closely to Noynoy Aquino’s camp are actually losers. I’m referring to Grace Padaca (Isabela) and Among Ed Panlilio (Pampanga) who in the latest COMELEC count actually lost in the 2007 election. Ang siste, these two are hailed as political reformers. Padaca toppled the Dy’s while Among Ed won in a very slim margin against Penida. Yon pala, talo naman pala sa election. The sad thing is, there’s barely 6 months left for the legitimate winners of the election to seat.

By now, alam ninyo na siguro kung ano ang sinisigaw ng mga ito. For sure, they’ll once again blame PGMA for the results. As you all know, lahat naman na nangyayari sa Pilipinas, si PGMA ang may kasalanan! Di ba mga militante? Do not be surprised if during the political rally, the LP camp will once again peddle the baseless conspiracy theories. We have to give credit to Grace Padaca though, she once and for all said that there’s no conspiracy theory and that PGMA has nothing to do with the COMELEC ruling. She’s smart enough not relent to her political handlers in the Opposition Party.

But she and Panlilio has to step down so that justice can be served. It’s unfair enough for the true winners to wait for 2.5 years to get their justice. The COMELEC should not wait for more motions and delays filed by Padaca and Panlilio’s lawyer. If they’re really honest and true as they claim to be, they should step down. As they say, justice delayed is justice denied.

Term Limit for LGU Officials

The term limit for Local Government Units (LGUs) officials will forever be a hot issue. For a good Mayor, 3 years (1 term) or 9 years (3 terms) is too short. On the other hand, 3 years (1 term) or 9 years (3 terms) is too long for a bad Mayor.

In Manila and if you have Atienza as Mayor, you’ll probably want to put him in the office forever. No doubt, Atienza did everything he could to re-invent and beautify Manila. When Alfredo Lim took the reins of the premier city, he practically destroyed all the beautification projects that Mayor Atienza made for the city. He also splurged (spent) all the surpluses (worth billions of pesos) accumulated during the Atienza era.

Manila is the microcosm of the Philippines. Unfair it may seem but for foreigners, what they see in Manila is the Philippines in itself. Nakakapanghinayang that the city that once hold a promise of revival was damaged by Lim’s inability to lead. Mas inuuna niya pa ang pamumulitika. In fact, he sends all Barangay Officials allied to him to an R&R in a major city in Asia (Of course, courtesy of the City of Manila’s treasury).

The same is true with Iloilo City. It only takes a Jerry Treñas to make Iloilo what it is today. Well, he really needs more years actually but because of term restrictions, he has to bow down. I’m not really saying that he’s the best thing that really happen to Iloilo (not even the next big thing). There were allegations before that he wanted to eliminate Adonis Manzan, a local critic. It’s still an allegation but Sheila Manzan, Adonis’ sister was horrified when a group of armed men open fire at the Manzan residence in Calumpang.

I’m sure that you guys have good and bad things to say against your local officials. The best thing is that, you have the power to vote who is best for our community. Just vote for someone who truly represents you. If he fails to perform, you just have to wait for another 3 years, and vote for the more deserving one.

I admire the intentions of the framers of the Local Government Code. They specifically designed a law that won’t allow a Local Official to remain in the office forever. However, as with all the laws, it should be reviewed to adapt to a changing times.