DepEd’s response to victims of Typhoon Sendong

Pilipina Ako doubts on the education department’s insistence to require those students from Cagayan De Oro and Iligan City—recently plagued by Typhoon Sendong—to attend classes today.

"Things are bad. We've gone through all of these difficulties but life must go on... What we do now is open our hearts and tell them with a big smile, ‘We will mourn with you, we will walk with you, welcome back to your second home,’" Armin Luistro, secretary of the Department of Education, was reported saying.

The tropical storm, anticipated to hit the country a day or two after it had done so, wrought about P1 billion worth of the country’s infrastructure and agriculture, affected some 65,067 families, and damaged more or less 12,131 houses.

The education secretary maintained, though, that going back to school would help the students—especially the young ones—in the region to get past the tragic event.

"I kept emphasizing there are times when you need a textbook, but this is not the time for that... There's science, there's values, a lot of mathematics that we can learn from Sendong itself [such as] viewing their geohazard maps," Luistro added upon introducing ‘special modules’ for the students who were affected by Sendong.

Luistro also proposed to designate an evacuation center in every municipality so that schools will no longer be the default place for evacuees. His department will also try to ‘restore normalcy’ through building villages for teachers (Brigada Eskwela), and implementing the K-12 program.

The National Association of School Psychologists, a nonpartisan professional organization in America, agrees with him, noting that the community must (1) remain calm and reassuring, (2) acknowledge children’s concern, (3) encourage children to talk about disaster-related events, (4) promote positive coping and problem-solving skills, (5) emphasize resiliency, (6) strengthen peer support, and (7) take care of its own needs.

Pilipina Ako hopes that would really do for now.

"We can't just be reactive to typhoons handle them and work on the status quo. Part of the K+12 program is the quality and the relevance of education to the country today." ~Secretary Armin Luistro, Department of Education

References

Agriculture vs. Modernity

Pilipina Ako was eight years old when she thought living in the province is the better option.

Stories of industry and simplicity had amazed her. Everywhere is clean, and everything—it would seem—is free.

But then, her parents settled in the city. And to date, more and more people leave the provinces—from 35.8% total employment in 2006 to 33.2% in 2010.

The Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) noted, though, that there are still 1.16 million Filipinos tilling the soil in Western Visayas. Central Luzon, Central Visayas, Bicol, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen, and ARMM have about 800,000 to 860,000 persons.

“All regions recorded declining proportions of agriculture in employment over the reference years,” a report from the BAS, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, read.

Filipino agricultural workers—and almost 1.35 million of them are children aged 5 years to 17 years old—could get P152.01 a day. Since 2006, it has gone up by 3.6%. Those involved in fishing activities earn P169.43 everyday.

The agricultural economists and experts who have called on the government to encourage crop diversification and establish agri-based enterprises were correct in a way. The Philippines is rich agriculturally, and it is always wise to draw from one’s own strength. But does that mean that Filipinos as young as 5 years old should ‘reduce poverty,’ as well?

References

REFERENCE LIST

16 January 2012
The chief justice on trial
http://www.scribd.com/doc/75446276/Summary-of-the-Corona-Impeachment-Complaint
http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/40836-Chief-Justice-Corona-answers-impeachment-charges.html
http://www.ph.net/htdocs/government/phil/judiciary/index.html
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/midnight%20appointment
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2011/12/15/malilong-recalling-corona-s-appointment-195897
http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1974/pd_379_1974.html
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/127665/corona-assets-worth-p200m
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/business/2011/06/06/camp-john-hay-firm-admits-p26-billion-debt-159589
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/20889/the-loyalty-of-chief-justice-corona
http://www.bcda.gov.ph/about_us
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/03/21/11/house-impeaches-ombudsman-gutierrez
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/200981/news/nation/sc-suspends-impeachment-proceedings-vs-ombudsman
http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2006/ra_9355_2006.html
http://www.wowsurigao.com/about-surigao/islands/dinagat
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/12/07/impeach-rap-vs-sc-justice-sufficient-substance-194516
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=598332
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/96297/tro-against-watchlist-order-on-arroyo-in-%E2%80%98full-force-and-in-effect%E2%80%99
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/99951/cases-vs-gloria-macapagal-arroyo-moving%E2%80%93palace
http://www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecreeno1949.htm
http://pcij.org/stories/high-court-black-hole-in-transparency-drive/

10 January 2012
Fun in the Philippines
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fun
http://itsmorefuninthephilippines.com/
http://www.bbdoguerrero.com/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/01/06/12/1951-it-was-more-fun-switzerland
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/economy/21745-new-ad-drive-nota-enough-to-perk-up
http://www.eturbonews.com/27516/fun-campaign-made-philippines

03 January 2012
DepEd’s response to victims of Typhoon Sendong
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/anc/01/05/12/luistro-says-life-must-go-storm-hit-areas
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/21/11/cost-sendong-damage-nears-p1b
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2011/12/17/cabaero-where-was-pagasa-196363
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/naturaldisaster_ho.aspx

Finally, a motorcycle lane!

Last year, the Metro Manila Development Authority noted 16, 208 road accidents and 177 fatalities in the region.

It had just been 13,561 road accidents and 105 fatalities in 2009—an increase from the recorded 12,656 accidents and 104 fatalities in 2008.

So MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino came up with a measure ‘aimed at instilling discipline among motorists.’ The policy would be on a trial period that would last for one to two months that he himself would oversee.

The motorcycle lane would not be exclusive to motorcycles. Other vehicles may use it if the other lanes are full but motorcycles are not allowed to leave their designated area.

The Commonwealth Avenue was dubbed the ‘killer highway’ for the lethal accidents that happened on the 12.4-kilometer stretch. It is likewise ‘murderously fearsome’ to motorcycle riders, if you ask Rogelio Singson, Public Works Secretary. Concrete barriers along thoroughfares had made it 90% unsafe for motorcycle riders—20% riskier for motorists in cars and other four-wheeled vehicles.

But the Motorcycle Rights Association (headed by Jobert Christian Bolanos) thinks the traffic scheme would endanger them even more. It is also “unconstitutional” because a city council could have no jurisdiction over a national road. So it filed a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction against Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, QC Department of Public Order and Safety, QC Police District, Land Transportation Office and MMDA.

“Petitioner submits that no matter how compelling the reason is and acute the traffic problem might be [on] Commonwealth Avenue as to reach a strangulation point, the solution does not lie in limiting and restricting the access of motorcycle riders to the fourth lane of Commonwealth Avenue which only creates and brings undue and greater risk,” the MRA was reported saying.

Plipina Ako has never driven a motorcycle and couldn’t see how the special lane could be “unreasonable, arbitrary and discriminatory.” But it has been a week after the dry run and there had been no reported mishaps. Can’t the MRA finally appreciate that?

“Like other vehicles, they are not exempted from the 60-kilometer per hour speed limit. The motorcycle lane is created for them not to stray on other lanes used by public utility and private vehicles.” ~ MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino

References

REFERENCE LIST

31 October 2011
Finally, a motorcycle lane!
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/top-stories/780-death-lurks-on-commonwealth-avenue
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/opinion/columnist1/9570-traffic-violators-15-minutes-of-fame
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/82997/dpwh-chief-supports-mmda%E2%80%99s-motorcycle-lanes
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/82951/mmda-chair-welcomes-suit-vs-motorcycle-lanes
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/82227/halt-to-motorcycle-lanes-rule-sought
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/338847/motorcycle-lane-challenged-court
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/236370/nation/mmda-nearly-500-violators-caught-in-1st-hours-of-motorcycle-lane-implementation
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/206542/nation/phl-observes-day-remembering-road-accident-victims
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/10/23/strict-implementation-bike-lanes-starts-monday-186672
http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=738789
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/10/16/11/mmda-chief-injured-own-bike
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/76859/bike-lanes-dry-run-starts-tomorrow
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/339144/qc-mulls-truck-tricycle-lanes

27 Oct 2011
Separating Mindanao
http://flagspot.net/flags/ph-hist.html
http://www.gov.ph/1998/02/12/republic-act-no-8491/
http://www.nhi.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=649&Itemid=5

China's investment in electric cars

Mark your calendars: China has chosen to gamble $1.5 billion (P64.95 billion) in its auto industry over the next 10 years, and see electric cars on its roads by 2015.

Talk about the biggest bet waged in the history of auto industry.

A bet because only the world's leading car makers can compete in a market accustomed to ‘learning’ from western technology. BMW, which is the world's most sustainable car company (Dow Jones Sustainability Index), already has some 300 engineers working on a technology (hydrogen-powered cars) that could supplant electric cars one day. It could also make cars—such as the 2012 BMW 1 Series—that saves more energy than fossil-fuel burning cars produced by its rival car makers.

Most Chinese cannot afford to buy a car of any kind, too. So the bet will depend whether the government will release the brakes on its economy or it will impose old-style communist regulations. Alpha Lujo, for instance, makes low-cost electric cars that cost $18,000. It would export to Australia sometime later in the year, meeting safety standards that could also pass in the United States and Europe.

So until a full scale demand for clean cars is more clearly established, the Chinese electronic-vehicle sector will remain a gamble, a choice between the Alpha Lujo and the BMW.

The Philippine connection

A little over three months ago, Ismael Aviso, 54, is known only through a couple of YouTube videos showing a stationary, skeletal-looking car with an engine fed with power from a box of capacitors and a thick, horizontal antenna.

Today, the mineral water businessman and electric car inventor from Navotas City is also featured in the Pure Energy Systems Wiki (PESWiki) who considered him as ‘the next big thing in green technology.’

“Nations all over the world are making a stake on electricity-powered cars. Pinoy e-car technology is better, cheaper and more efficient. We should not be left out; instead of importing this technology, we must employ this know-how to build our own e-cars and sell it to the world.”

Petroleum-guzzling vehicles can turn into electric through repackaging this fuel-less car invention into a conversion kit. But that is if ‘the Philippine government can help [Aviso] gain an easy way to get a huge loan from a bank’ to help him ‘focus on producing conversion kits.’

Another Filipino inventor, Gerry Caroro, built eight prototypes of “G Car,” which costs as little as P280,000, in his West Avenue workshop in QC.

The first kind runs on a 48-volt, deep cycle-type battery that could only consume about P40 worth of electricity when plugged to a 220-volt power source for eight hours. The car can then cover up to 80 km.

Another can ‘seat two persons in front and two more at the back’ and ‘could go for a maximum of 40 kph’—perfect for short rides.

There is also a model that can run on both battery and gasoline, and another one on solar energy that has solar panels installed on the vehicle’s roof.

Inspired by the Philippine Eagle, G Cars have front hoods in beak-shaped pattern and doors that swing open at an angle like wings.

Only support

Filipino inventions can get only P178,000 funding ‘given every November to celebrate National Inventors Week (NIW).’

“Obviously, this is not enough [that] is why a lot of my colleagues were forced to seek support from abroad,” Ronald Talion, spokesperson of the Filipino Inventors Society, lamented.

In collaboration with the Quezon City Parks Development Foundation Inc., the G Cars can be ridden inside the Quezon Memorial Circle for P30 per lap.

The future of electric cars, it seems, relies not only on whether their purchase and use will catch on, but also on how good the car batteries can become: how much power they can hold, and for how long, has long been the technology's main stumbling point. GM's plans to build a lithium-ion battery plant in Michigan to assemble battery packs could presage a new technology race among the big three and companies in nations like India and China to see who can first build the battery that will make affordable, long-driving electric cars a reality. ~http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1871282,00.html

References

Frost Tourism: Good and Bad News

Since the climate in Baguio City will get colder till February, municipal agriculturist Fred Rufino of the Department of Agriculture (DA) had came up with another income-generating scheme: frost tourism.

The temperature in the country ranges from 25.5oC to 28.3oC. But being elevated 1,500 meters from the metro, Baguio’s mean annual temperature is 18.3oC. The average vegetable farmer in Atok earns only P20,000 every harvest.

The ‘frost injury’ could make money. Aside from making the semi-temperate vegetables tastier, the yearly phenomenon could also attract local and international tourists to the area.

The plan is self-defeating, though. Instead of doing our part to combat climate change, we envisaged to profit from an environmental collision. Is that how the Department of Tourism (DOT) ought to develop regional economy and develop national tourism?

"The Central Philippines will be a significant destination that offers direct international access, seamless interconnectivity, world-class tourist facilities and products that meet the demands of tomorrow’s tourist. The Central Philippines will achieve these through the sustainable development of tourism products, environmental protection and enhancement, underpinned by adequate infrastructure with rational management of the destinations, capacity building, investment promotion, effective marketing and an improved business environment."
- 2006 State of the Nation Address

References

Global disasters

As the world welcomes another year, a deluge happened in Australia, affecting 200,00 citizens in the country’s northeastern region.

The flood also wrought havoc to its agricultural and mining industry, impinging on the small businesses and tourism in Australia as well. Even the treatment plant was swamped so some residents experience ‘critical drinking water shortage’.

Disasters such as this have been happening since the 1800s. The strongest cyclone to date, Tip, grounded some eight ships in 1979 and killed 44 fishermen. Even a lake in a remote area in Cameroon caused the death of about 1,800 people and stripped everything around it.

The most powerful earthquake ever recorded is the Chile Earthquake. It struck the country in 1960, killing 6,000 people. If it had not been for the country’s preparedness and the remote location of the epicenter, many more would have died.

The Philippines also crafted an emergency plan of its own last year. Republic Act 10121 aimed to ‘uphold the people's constitutional rights to life and property’, ‘adhere to and adopt the universal norms, principles, and standards of humanitarian assistance’, and ‘incorporate internationally accepted principles of disaster risk management’, among others.

Had that been enough to shield five people who have died because of the Typhoon Megi last year? The law was signed about five months before the tropical storm struck.

The Philippines is naturally fragile, said James Reynolds, a storm chaser in Luzon. Typhoon Megi, which was renamed Typhoon Juan as it entered the Philippine shores, was also the strongest the country had last year, as far as Catherine Martin, manager of disaster management services at the Philippine National Red Cross, is concerned.

Some 20 governors campaigned to ‘make cities resilient’ too. Under the theme “Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in the Philippines”, participants committed their own levels to invest more in disaster risk reduction as well as protect ecosystems.

“We cannot stop cities [from] growing but we can start planning them in a more sustainable way,” said Margareta Wahlström, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction. “It does not require huge amounts of new resources, but different ways of using existing resources.”

Representing the Philippines, Albay joined the UNISDR World Disaster Reduction Campaign along with Mexico City (Mexico), Durban (South Africa), Bogota (Colombia), Port-au-Prince (Haiti), Amman, (Jordan), Albay (the Philippines), Cairns (Australia), Chennai City (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Kathmandu (Nepal) and Saint Louis (Senegal).

References

REFERENCE LIST

25 Jan 2011
Patronizing foreign concerts
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/01/03/11/kuh-ledesma-wants-foreign-acts-regulated
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/entertainment/01/05/11/lani-misalucha-avoids-concert-clash-foreign-artists
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/01/07/11/ogie-alcasid-wants-higher-tax-rates-foreign-acts
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/10/06/10/gary-v-alarmed-rising-foreign-acts-country
http://www.abs-cbn.com/Celebrity/Article/9193/ASAP-Sessionistas-speak-up-on-Filipino-musicians-competing-against-foreign-acts.aspx
http://freemoviesandtvshowslive.com/8245/should-ph-regulate-foreign-artists-concerts-4/
http://www.historycentral.com/nationbynation/Philippines/Population.html
http://taylorswiftph.com/sticky-post-taylor-swift-live-in-manila-faqs
http://freemoviesandtvshowslive.com/8245/should-ph-regulate-foreign-artists-concerts-4/
http://www.opm.org.ph/about.html

10 Jan 2011
Frost tourism: Good and Bad News
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/01/11/11/brrrr-mt-pulag-temps-drop-2-3-degrees-celsius
http://kidlat.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/cab/statfram.htm
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/local-news/frost-good-agriculture-tourism-official
http://www.baguiocity.com/news_article/frost-has-positive-effects-too
http://www.tourism.gov.ph/SitePages/tourismpolicy.aspx
http://thehappinessshow.com/HappiestCountries.htm

07 Jan 2011
How Filipinas regard babies
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20080803-152296/Reproductive-health-bill-Facts-fallacies
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/11/23/10/pinay-gives-birth-inside-manila-airport
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/01/04/11/dead-fetus-found-etihad-airways-flight
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/201232/ofw-admits-giving-birth-to-gulf-air-baby
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/200873/newborn-baby-found-in-airport-garbage-bag
http://ofwnow.com/local-news/fetus-found-fourth-case-in-a-week/6953
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/lifestyle/27776-preventive-healthcare-starts-the-moment-parents-plan-to-have-a-baby
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/opinion/28032-babies-are-gifts-from-heaven
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/regions/29729-japan-assists-construction-of-birthing-facility-in-leyte
http://aviation-safety.net/database/airport/airport.php?id=MNL
http://125.60.203.88/miaa/AIRPORT/index.asp

05 Jan 2011
How the PNP trains
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/opinion/37270-president-aquinos-investments-data
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/01/04/11/cop-nabbed-after-shooting-spree-bulacanhttp://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/01/05/11/crimes-cops-batter-pnp-image
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/01/06/11/qc-cops-alleged-kidnap-victim-found-dead-pangasinan
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/01/04/11/730-cops-face-summary-dismissal
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/01/06/11/napolcom-takes-over-cases-crooked-cops
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/01/04/11/robredo-faster-disciplinary-process-erring-cops
http://www.pnp.gov.ph/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=247:bacalzo-leads-pnp-through-daang-matuwid&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=27
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=609849
http://www.pnpa.edu.ph/
http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Philippine_National_Police
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/01/04/11/pnp-chief-orders-moral-discipline-seminars
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/nation/37247-chr-wants-review-upgrade-of-police-recruitment-process

04 Jan 2010
Global disasters
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/world/36769-australia-floods-worsen-claim-first-victim
http://listverse.com/2010/03/15/top-10-most-terrifying-natural-disasters-in-history/
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=583034
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MGAE-82WDPG?OpenDocument
http://www.mapreport.com/subtopics/d/countries/philippines.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/18/philippines.typhoon/
http://www.unisdr.org/english/campaigns/campaign2010-2011/news/v.php?tag=2010-11campaign&id=16285

Faith of the Filipinos on PNoy

Every last Monday of July, the Philippine Constitution obliges the incumbent president to ‘open’ the other branch of governance, which is the Congress.

President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III, who dubbed himself PNoy, delivered his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) four days after the mandate. He unfolded a current investigation [on the corruption in some offices in the government] instead of his legislative agenda, which former presidents traditionally do.

His SONA was dutifully aired by the ABS-CBN in their coverage entitled Boses ng Bayan: Ang Unang SONA ni Pangulong Aquino. The network also reported what some of their audience think and feel on PNoy’s speech that it has collated from the Wireless Audience Response System (WARS) and online polls.

A total of 160 volunteers from Metro Manila, Naga, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro participated in the network’s quest to know how Pnoy’s SONA affected the nation. The Boses Ng Bayan (Voice of the People) was represented by students, educators, office workers, government employees, and private businessmen. They answered some four questions while the SONA was ongoing.

Did they believe that Pnoy’s administration could stop the "quota-quota" and "tong-pats" system? About 81.6% responded positively through the WARS while 85% also agreed in the online polls.

Did they believe that Pnoy’s administration would not overspend and refrain from engaging itself in anomalous projects? About 84.7% using the WARS thought so too, as well as 80% following online.

Did they believe that Pnoy’s administration would probe onto the major anomalies the last administration was accused of? About 79.6% respondents equipped with WARS held onto that while 75% adhered on it in the online polls.

Did they believe that Pnoy’s administration would consider job creation its topmost priority, cutting red tape so that key industries and businesses could easily set up and operate in the country? About 90.8% surveyed through WARS remarked confidently on that while 85% concurred in the online polls.

The network’s website also arranged a 12-hour live chat (from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) participated in by 23,147 people during the SONA. Two weeks before PNoy’s report, Bayan Mo, iPatrol Mo: Ako ang Simula (BMPM), a citizen journalism project of the ABS-CBN, learned that there are people craving for a corruption-free government and poverty-free nation under his administration.

Aside from poverty and corruption, the respondents also wished for improved healthcare, disciplined and efficient state workers, equal opportunity for education, pro-environment programs, peace and order, upgrade of infrastructures and facilities, financial aid and security for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and agricultural reform.

Pilipina Ako honors PNoy for instilling optimism in every Filipino. Those who used to blame the government for every misfortune they have were now goaded to work on themselves and succeed. Hopefully, these people would eventually work on their dreams. Hopefully too, the PNoy’s administration would not just be about goals and visions.

Pilipina Ako Jost noted that the OFWs were not particularly mentioned in PNoy’s SONA. The OFWs who braved foreign lands to work and earn. The OFWs who kept saving the national treasury from deficit. The OFWs who would prefer being with their families back home if only the economical situation in the country is favorable.

References

Keeping the bad news

Despite nationwide reports on the looming water crisis, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) maintains that the Angat Dam ‘is still manageable.’

Engineer Rodolfo German, manager of the dam, also agreed. He said the water supply would still be enough for one-and-a-half months.

But two days ago, the Angat Dam dropped to 157.70 meters—three metres lower than the dam’s critical level and the lowest since September 12, 1998, an El Niño year.

* * * *

I remember the television series 24 (Season 2). In there, United States President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) chose to conceal a nuclear bomb threat in Los Angeles. His decision endangered his position, but he preferred to believe Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) who concluded that it was a decoy.

That could likewise be the case. The close-to-critical-only warnings were meant to avoid panic. After all, this attitude has contributed to the death of 162 disco goers in March 18, 1996. It has also caused death to more or less 250 Muslims every year as they fulfill the fifth pillar in Islam. It has spelled doom to Charles T. Barney, president of the Knickerbocker Trust Company, when its board asked him to resign.

As of now, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) together with the National Power Corporation (Napocor) and the Bureau of Soils and Water Management have been cloud seeding over the Angat Dam to tease its skies. Their effort, however, does not appeal to the weather forecasters who believe rain will pour but in August and September.

Maynilad Water Services Incorporated and Manila Water were also directed to implement mitigation measures so that the water supply of the dam will last. Currently, 33 cm of water only is allocated to Metro Manila. They would also have to review its supply condition every week.

References

Rain gently falls whenever we say goodnight

Sometime last month, the country's highlanders began to pray for rain. They cast a dry spell on their fields that's denying them of the name Rice Granary of the Philippines. Northern Luzon is responsible for the food supply of 46% of the region. Without rain, these people would hunger.

But between Juban and Irosin in Sorsogon, Bicolanos are prthaaying not to rain. A light rain could cause the ash falls Mt. Bulusan had shot up to turn into lava and surge inland. The volcano is one of the 22 active volcanoes in the Philippines. Its explosion is the 25th time a country's volcano threatened the safety of some people.

“The lack of rains in what is already the rainy season of the country calls for divine intervention," believes Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales . "Our relief will come from nature. And so we implore the Master of all creation, God, our Father, at whose command the winds and the seas obey, to send us rain."

And so, an Oratio Imperata Ad Petendam Pluviam (Obligatory Prayer to Request for Rain) and Intercessory Prayers for Rain were ordered. They are to be offered during Masses in the Archdiocese of Manila 'until the rains come.'

Days passed and currently, a number of heavy rains had brought landslides and floods, killing 11 people in Compostela Valley and one boy in Baguio. It also led to the cancellation of classes in Metro Manila. But still, the rains were not enough in the highlands. "We need a total of 5,000 liters or eight drums of water in order to produce a kilo of rice," said Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap. He also means to say that at least 5 to 6 hours of continuous rains daily for two to three weeks are the frequency needed so that rice fields could be prepared for planting. "The three days of rains had only helped bring down the temperature in Metro Manila. They were not able to irrigate the rice lands in such provinces as Isabela, La Union, Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija which were experiencing little rainfall." It even has not brought the Angat Dam to its normal operating level of 188.47 meters.

Was the secretary subtly condemning God for his inadequate action? Were the people blaming nature for its sweet revenge? Or is it just time for the environmental violators to come to their senses? Putting a spa close to the mouth of a dormant volcano is only one of the violations some of the authorities are letting investors do at the risk of infuriating Mother Nature and disturbing us. Pilipina Ako wishes that Environment Secretary Lito Atienza can do something.

References

REFERENCE LIST

08 August 2007
Rain gently falls whenever we say goodnight
Dizon, N. et al. "Pray for rain, faithful urged." www.inquirer.net. 02 Aug 2007
PNA. T.C. "Chedeng seems to answer prayers for rain." www.manilatimes.net. 02 Aug 2007
Vargas, A. et al. "Slides, floods kill 11." www.manilatimes.net. 09 Aug 2007
Leyco, S. et al. "3 days of rain cooled Metro, but still not enough." www.manilatimes.net. 09 Aug 2007