No Bystanders

A few days ago, I read the story of Reynaldo Cacillar - a pedicab driver who "died a tragically lonesome death on June 21, going largely unaided and unattended despite suffering an apparent heart attack or stroke in front of many passersby right outside a university." (Full story here.)

After reading his story, I resolved I would do things differently if presented with the same situation.

Today, as I was walking home, I passed by an elderly woman lying unconscious on the sidewalk. I pass on the same street often and I know it's not the usual spot where homeless people would rest or sleep. Looking at her position, and the fact that one of her slippers was off and on the main road, it seemed she passed out or there was an accident. Foamy saliva was flowing out of her mouth and I wasn't even sure if she was breathing.

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Copy of budget proposal. Photo by Grace Bandoy

A visit to Baguio will show you that the City of Pines has lost its charm. And it's easy to see why. Mayor Mauricio Domogan has sold the city's soul to the highest bidder - one of them is Henry Sy of SM.

When concerned residents of Baguio were up in arms against SM's plan to cut/earth-ball more than a hundred pine trees to give way for the construction of a parking lot, Mayor Domogan was  their only chance to have the proposal blocked after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) indicated it was outside their mandate given that the concerned trees were on a private property.

But they were told not to hold their hopes high. The Mayor has been paid Sixty Million Pesos (PhP 60,000,000) to approve the project, they alleged.

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A search of Jack Enrile on Google produces some interesting suggestions.

I've only heard of Jack Enrile's role in the death of Alfie Anido and Ernest Lucas from news reports, and while these continue to be a "he said, she said" scenario, there is one story I've heard that I have no reason to doubt. While discussing the upcoming election with my dad, me mentioned there  is one candidate he would never vote for.

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I recently saw a story in Facebook that reminded me of various personal experiences while traveling, and it reminded me that indeed, racism is alive. And that's a sad thing, considering that it's the 21st century already, the age of internet and world travel. But the good thing is, the more people talk about this and the more people speak up and act when they witness it, like in the story below, we are a step closer to a just world.

Here's the story:

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The problem of solid waste is in the headlines again.

With stories like the Baguio (Irisan) trash slide, the Olongapo trash slide and the flooding in Metro Manila and central Luzon aggravated by the fact that our rivers and canals are full of trash, the problem of solid waste is being confronted once again, both at the local and national level.

Sadly, instead of promoting ecological alternatives (there are plenty of success stories out there), certain groups and even media personalities are promoting fake solutions to something that is not even a problem in the first place.

The things that we throw away are not waste, they are resources if we only manage them properly.

Sadly, people are after quick "solutions" like incineration. MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said he is open to reviving incineration as a way to address the problem of waste. DENR Secretary Ramon Paje is said to be to open to discussing it (thou he claims he was misquoted).

Ms. Karen Davila of ABS-CBN has been promoting it as a "practical solution," calling groups against it as "idealist." But are groups who are against incinerators really just idealist?

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