(The editorial I have not yet submitted. I turned in something else today and my turn does not come again until Wednesday. – AC)
It's official: President Arroyo wants to “serve the hard-working people of [her] province” and is running as representative of the second district of Pampanga.
Arroyo has served the nation for eight years and ten months as chief executive. She will serve it for seven more months. One would think a 62-year-old would want to retire, go back to teaching, write a book, maybe enjoy her grandchildren. Then again, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is no ordinary woman.
They say a term is too short for a good president and too long for a bad one. Was Mrs. Arroyo a bad president? It's hard to say; every report and figure is so tainted with bias for and against her. The public does not know where to look for an objective assessment. The media, fed by attention deficient politicians, has been sensational. On the other hand, the President's defenders have been relentless, too.
Of course she's not seeking the same term – technically. Her constituency will shrink and if only because of that, a victory is likely. The perks will be there, even with an opposition president. Especially with a lame one.
The outrage is expected. The move does little to quell the speculation that Mrs. Arroyo is up to some tricks. After all, the House of Representatives has been servile to her when she was president, quelling several impeachment complaints and pushing, shamelessly, for a constituent assembly. Fortunately, an outraged public foiled this move. But because Plan A has been foiled, Plan B emerges, or so we are told.
But let us assume that there are no plans. Let us view Arroyo's decision without a past and without a future – whether or not she has been a good president, and whether or not she intends to steer the House of Representatives into something else.
The simple fact is that seeking another post, especially a lower one, after one has become president is repulsive. When you get elected to the presidency, it is assumed you have done your best. The law may be swayed so as not to bar you from running again, but your convictions should. If you wanted to do good, you should have done it while you could. When your time is up, you take a bow and suffer the legacy you have made for yourself.
Another former President, convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada has filed a certificate to run for president. Now the man says Arroyo is not qualified to run. The statement is downright comic when you remember it is Erap himself who faces disqualification questions.
When you are talking about the things you have to do to be worthy of the Office of the President, there is no room for comic relief or lame rhetoric.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Psychological first aid
published 30 Nov 2009, Manila Standard Today
There is such a thing as a honeymoon phase in disaster response. Remember the overwhelming bayanihan spirit that swept the nation just after the onslaught of tropical storm Ondoy and after that, typhoons Pepeng and Santi? Images we saw on television and our own experiences, or those of people we actually knew, prompted Filipinos to make unprecedented donations and even volunteer to join relief distribution activities. The community spirit gave us a high. For those who were themselves affected, the honeymoon came in the form of gratefulness at simply being alive, a strong sense of purpose and a will to be strong despite the tragedy.
These feel-good days hardly last. The rest of us go back to our routine, comforted by the thought of at least having done “something”. On the other hand, disillusionment descends upon the victims. They become vulnerable to survivors’ guilt, feeling as though they did not do enough to save their loved ones as they were themselves saved. The disaster hits home, so to speak. A woman realizes that her husband, or child, or a parent, is dead. A man must come to terms with the fact that the house, income source and all other things he has toiled for have been washed away. Grief then becomes the more prominent emotion. Material and emotional recovery seem like a distant dream.
Director Suzette Agcaoili of the Social Welfare Institutional Development Bureau of the Social Welfare Department says disaster stress is normal reaction to abnormal circumstances such as disasters. It is normally manifested as irritability and anger, self-blame or blaming of others, isolation, fear of recurrence, numbnessm helplessness, mood wings, sadness and depression, denial, concentration and memory problems as well as relationship conflicts.
Different individuals have different built-in capabilities in dealing with disaster stress. It depends on their natural attributes as well as their pre-existing vulnerabilities, mainly the cache of memories and emotions stored in their brains. Some people are remarkably resilient and are able to deal with their loss head on and hence move on to rebuilding faster, with minimal or no intervention.
Some, however, manifest the symptoms of a more advanced problem. They have panic attacks and have reduced ability to function for months, even years. Its not quite a post-traumatic stress disorder situation, but it could lead there if it goes unattended. Their reactions are most likely occasioned not by a single event but by an event that unleashes all other stored emotions from the past. These need a different kind of attention from professionals, although it does not in any way suggest they are already mental patients. One of the ongoing programs of the Social Welfare Department is the critical stress debriefing program, which is applied in seven stages by trained individuals and completes a process from introduction to closure.
The challenging part is that some of the members of the Social Welfare Department debriefing team are themselves victims of the devastation and must cope with their own experiences before being able to help others. Agcaoili herself lives in Concepcion, Marikina and has had to deal with her own reactions to Ondoy’s devastation and the threat it posed on her person and her 85-year-old mother who lived with her.
The Social Welfare Department director talks about a teacher who also lives in Marikina and was a victim of Ondoy. What stand out in their meetings are the teacher’s extraordinarily vivid memories of the July 1990 earthquake, which she has witnessed as a high school student in Baguio. Apparently, in her school, there was a security guard who always greeted her in the morning, and she saw this guard buried in the resulting rubble. As a result, even up to now, any vibrations on the ground (caused by passing trailer trucks, for instance) cause her to freeze and compulsively look for the stairs so she could head for the ground floor. Only then can this teacher feel safe.
* * *
Last week, Agcaoili, a practicing clinical psychologist, talked to a group of volunteers from member-organizations of the Nutrition Research Information Network on psychological first aid. There is nothing advanced about the subject matter, no need for graduate degrees in clinical psychology. These volunteers are about to be fielded into their respective communities to simply “talk” to disaster victims in the event new disasters come along. It’s psychological first aid, a crucial step that’s as vital as making sure the victims have something to eat and have a place to stay immediately after the tragedy.
Talking about what’s wrong is always good therapy, Agcaoili says, and the best thing is that anybody—students, employees and civil servants, vendors, tricycle drivers and housewives —with a sense of compassion and pakikipagkapwa-tao can do it. People who feel vulnerable and insecure won’t probably open up to a mental health worker in a white coat or a psychologist who comes with a pen and paper; they will talk, however, to somebody who tells them they can talk about anything and is ready to offer not rehearsed answers but a simple hug.
And just as being a psychological first-aid giver does not require an academic degree, not everybody can be an effective one. One has to exude kindness, sincerity, compassion and a non-judgmental nature in order to draw the other person out.
Sometimes in an effort to offer comfort to another, we utter words and phrases that may be well-meaning but may have adverse effects. Agcaoili cautions the first-aid giver to refrain from saying the following; “I understand what it’s like” (unless one has been in an exact same situation, one can never understand); “don’t feel bad” (commanding); “you are strong, you can do it, don’t worry” (trivializes the disaster’s effects); “it could be worse, at least, you still have...” (providing false consolation); and “it’s God’s will” (when a person’s faith is shaken, this is probably the last thing he or she would want to hear.)
In no way shall a first-aid giver exert pressure on the other person to talk, or be disheartened by initial adverse reaction such as extreme emotions or refusal to communicate. He should not make grand promises (“the government will build you a new house!”), give false hopes (“your child is still alive and is recovering in the hospital” when the child is actually dead), or criticize relief efforts by other organizations.
In the end, the objective of psychological first aid is to occasion a feeling of safety, calm, connectedness, self-efficacy, and hope.
* * *
We often think relief always takes the form of noodles, canned goods, toiletry and other basic things contained in a plastic bag and distributed to the “poor” victims. That’s good for the first few weeks—remember the honeymoon period I mentioned in the first paragraph?—but beyond that, and after all the donations have been handed out, what else is left?
Continuing relief is just as important, Agcaoili says, and it does not always take the form of tangible, consumable goods. Psychological first aid, as well as the more advanced critical incidents stress debriefing, plays a big part in the recovery process and in the person’s total well-being. Most often, not everybody needs special attention. People just need to talk about their experience and heal, over time. It prevents them from feeling helpless and resorting to depending on doles all the time. It ensures that in time, they will be ready to prevent similar incidents or cope better if he cannot prevent them.
adellechua@gmail.com
There is such a thing as a honeymoon phase in disaster response. Remember the overwhelming bayanihan spirit that swept the nation just after the onslaught of tropical storm Ondoy and after that, typhoons Pepeng and Santi? Images we saw on television and our own experiences, or those of people we actually knew, prompted Filipinos to make unprecedented donations and even volunteer to join relief distribution activities. The community spirit gave us a high. For those who were themselves affected, the honeymoon came in the form of gratefulness at simply being alive, a strong sense of purpose and a will to be strong despite the tragedy.
These feel-good days hardly last. The rest of us go back to our routine, comforted by the thought of at least having done “something”. On the other hand, disillusionment descends upon the victims. They become vulnerable to survivors’ guilt, feeling as though they did not do enough to save their loved ones as they were themselves saved. The disaster hits home, so to speak. A woman realizes that her husband, or child, or a parent, is dead. A man must come to terms with the fact that the house, income source and all other things he has toiled for have been washed away. Grief then becomes the more prominent emotion. Material and emotional recovery seem like a distant dream.
Director Suzette Agcaoili of the Social Welfare Institutional Development Bureau of the Social Welfare Department says disaster stress is normal reaction to abnormal circumstances such as disasters. It is normally manifested as irritability and anger, self-blame or blaming of others, isolation, fear of recurrence, numbnessm helplessness, mood wings, sadness and depression, denial, concentration and memory problems as well as relationship conflicts.
Different individuals have different built-in capabilities in dealing with disaster stress. It depends on their natural attributes as well as their pre-existing vulnerabilities, mainly the cache of memories and emotions stored in their brains. Some people are remarkably resilient and are able to deal with their loss head on and hence move on to rebuilding faster, with minimal or no intervention.
Some, however, manifest the symptoms of a more advanced problem. They have panic attacks and have reduced ability to function for months, even years. Its not quite a post-traumatic stress disorder situation, but it could lead there if it goes unattended. Their reactions are most likely occasioned not by a single event but by an event that unleashes all other stored emotions from the past. These need a different kind of attention from professionals, although it does not in any way suggest they are already mental patients. One of the ongoing programs of the Social Welfare Department is the critical stress debriefing program, which is applied in seven stages by trained individuals and completes a process from introduction to closure.
The challenging part is that some of the members of the Social Welfare Department debriefing team are themselves victims of the devastation and must cope with their own experiences before being able to help others. Agcaoili herself lives in Concepcion, Marikina and has had to deal with her own reactions to Ondoy’s devastation and the threat it posed on her person and her 85-year-old mother who lived with her.
The Social Welfare Department director talks about a teacher who also lives in Marikina and was a victim of Ondoy. What stand out in their meetings are the teacher’s extraordinarily vivid memories of the July 1990 earthquake, which she has witnessed as a high school student in Baguio. Apparently, in her school, there was a security guard who always greeted her in the morning, and she saw this guard buried in the resulting rubble. As a result, even up to now, any vibrations on the ground (caused by passing trailer trucks, for instance) cause her to freeze and compulsively look for the stairs so she could head for the ground floor. Only then can this teacher feel safe.
* * *
Last week, Agcaoili, a practicing clinical psychologist, talked to a group of volunteers from member-organizations of the Nutrition Research Information Network on psychological first aid. There is nothing advanced about the subject matter, no need for graduate degrees in clinical psychology. These volunteers are about to be fielded into their respective communities to simply “talk” to disaster victims in the event new disasters come along. It’s psychological first aid, a crucial step that’s as vital as making sure the victims have something to eat and have a place to stay immediately after the tragedy.
Talking about what’s wrong is always good therapy, Agcaoili says, and the best thing is that anybody—students, employees and civil servants, vendors, tricycle drivers and housewives —with a sense of compassion and pakikipagkapwa-tao can do it. People who feel vulnerable and insecure won’t probably open up to a mental health worker in a white coat or a psychologist who comes with a pen and paper; they will talk, however, to somebody who tells them they can talk about anything and is ready to offer not rehearsed answers but a simple hug.
And just as being a psychological first-aid giver does not require an academic degree, not everybody can be an effective one. One has to exude kindness, sincerity, compassion and a non-judgmental nature in order to draw the other person out.
Sometimes in an effort to offer comfort to another, we utter words and phrases that may be well-meaning but may have adverse effects. Agcaoili cautions the first-aid giver to refrain from saying the following; “I understand what it’s like” (unless one has been in an exact same situation, one can never understand); “don’t feel bad” (commanding); “you are strong, you can do it, don’t worry” (trivializes the disaster’s effects); “it could be worse, at least, you still have...” (providing false consolation); and “it’s God’s will” (when a person’s faith is shaken, this is probably the last thing he or she would want to hear.)
In no way shall a first-aid giver exert pressure on the other person to talk, or be disheartened by initial adverse reaction such as extreme emotions or refusal to communicate. He should not make grand promises (“the government will build you a new house!”), give false hopes (“your child is still alive and is recovering in the hospital” when the child is actually dead), or criticize relief efforts by other organizations.
In the end, the objective of psychological first aid is to occasion a feeling of safety, calm, connectedness, self-efficacy, and hope.
* * *
We often think relief always takes the form of noodles, canned goods, toiletry and other basic things contained in a plastic bag and distributed to the “poor” victims. That’s good for the first few weeks—remember the honeymoon period I mentioned in the first paragraph?—but beyond that, and after all the donations have been handed out, what else is left?
Continuing relief is just as important, Agcaoili says, and it does not always take the form of tangible, consumable goods. Psychological first aid, as well as the more advanced critical incidents stress debriefing, plays a big part in the recovery process and in the person’s total well-being. Most often, not everybody needs special attention. People just need to talk about their experience and heal, over time. It prevents them from feeling helpless and resorting to depending on doles all the time. It ensures that in time, they will be ready to prevent similar incidents or cope better if he cannot prevent them.
adellechua@gmail.com
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Getting dramatic over climate change
published 23 Nov 2009, Manila Standard Today
Students in colorful native costumes crowded Heroes Hall in Malacañang on Friday morning. There were dancers, singers, musicians who played tunes by blowing on used soft-drink bottles filled with varying amounts of water. A mural by an Isabela-based artist was unveiled. A woman from Palau rendered a native chant.
The event was not, per se, a cultural exhibition. During the multi-media summit on climate change, art was not an end in itself but a tool. For the rest of Climate Change Consciousness Week – November 19 to 25, according to Presidential Proclamation 1667 – a host of similar activities will supplement forums and discussions on the issue. The visual and performing arts are a force in fostering awareness, and beyond that social transformation and committed action. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts tries to popularize among citizens a concept that's highly technical – and downright scary.
Menacing prospects
There is a tipping point of irreversible climate change, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change quotes scientists as saying. That will be the day when the level of greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere would be 450 parts per million, roughly by the year 2050. When this point is reached, a two-degree centigrade increase in global temperature will occur. Sea levels will rise by six to seven meters. Here in the Philippines, such an increase in sea levels will reduce the land areas of Mactan and Guimaras. Vast areas of Malabon, Navotas and Manila (including the newsroom at the Port Area where I write this column now), will be permanently under water.
Today the greenhouse level stands at 372 parts per million. Yet, even before the tipping point is reached, “creeping” climate change is already upon us. The 20 or so typhoons that visit us every year are getting stronger and more frequent, says Secretary Heherson Alvarez, the presidential adviser on climate change. Typhoons only used to average 120-140 kilometer per hour; now they are in the vicinity of 180-200 kph. There are unprecedented floods and landslides, as we so painfully know.
There are two approaches to climate change: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation refers to acts and omissions that keep us from releasing more carbon into the atmosphere. Thus we push back the tipping point. On the other hand, adaptation refers to dealing with the effects of climate change – the disasters that we are seeing now – because, precisely, climate change is not just a looming prospect. It's already here.
Copenhagen and the Philippine position
Next month, world leaders will be gathering in Copenhagen, Denmark to negotiate a treaty to succeed the Kyoto protocol that sought to get countries of the world to cut emission targets, depending on their level of industrialization. Kyoto is expiring in 2012 and is largely viewed as inadequate, especially since the United States of America, the world's biggest economy and the second-largest carbon emitter (next to China) never ratified it.
President Barack Obama has indicated his country would walk the talk this time around. But will US senators, who ultimately have to pass legislation, back him up? Americans may not be too keen on cutting their emissions if it would crimp industrial output – especially in a recession. The Chinese, on the other hand, insist that America has had a big head start in getting rich by dumping carbon into the air. Why should China set its limits when its economy caught up only recently? Indeed it's going to be a political issue, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, says. Let's just hope that for this one, concerns of the human race would be more important than each nation's output issues. Countries that stand to lose the most need all the help they can get from the real culprits.
This is the Philippines' clout and personality in the talks, never mind that we are a low-carbon emitter. The 1995 Manila Declaration,which brought together 38 countries most at risk from climate change, affirmed the extreme vulnerability of archipelagic and island-nations. (The woman who chanted was the Hon. Faustina Rehuher Marugg, minister of community and cultural affairs of Palau, a country which may just share the Philippines' fate in the long run.)
So in the Copenhagen talks, the Philippines, along with other vulnerable nations, will press for deep and early emission cuts by industrialized nations. Specifically, our team will press for cuts of at least 30 percent between 2013 and 2017, at least 50 percent between 2018 and 2020, and at least 95 percent by 2050, all from 1990 levels.
Then again, these are just demands, and like other multi-lateral talks, there will be plenty of haggling and power play. We hope the delegates do not get stalled by their national interests and forget that each day wasted on disagreement brings all of mankind a little closer to tipping point.
An administrative challenge
Alvarez says that if there was something the country realized from the disasters we've seen in recent years, it is that we sorely lack a national climate change action plan. These are extraordinary times and we should be on war footing against climate change, he says. All sectors must be mobilized.
Aside from his advisory office, Alvarez also oversees the reorganized Presidential Task Force on Climate Change,which the President chairs. These agencies will eventually be absorbed by the Climate Change Commission, created by Republic Act 9729, signed by the President just last October. He hopes that the commission will be able to craft a national blueprint for this extraordinary war.
Then again, some sectors say that there are already too many commissions under the Office of the President and that a department-level body is needed to ensure that any initiatives are sustained regardless of political developments. Alvarez agrees, and believes these gaps in the law will be addressed soon enough. For now the main challenge is to get the emerging agencies going, especially in the adaptations aspect, seeing how destructive recent disasters have been.
But is it possible to sustain the momentum, especially since the elections – and the circus that goes with it -- are just around the corner? The key here is to make commitment to the mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change an election issue. Since the would-be commission would be under the Office of the President, the next chief executive should be committed to the cause, lest it get taken over by the other equally pressing concerns of the presidency.
Will Alvarez himself seek an elective post next year? “Well, my party (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) is nominating me,” he says, “but I would rather stay here and focus on these emerging agencies.” He adds that while the country's position on mitigation is already pretty much settled, much work remains to be done on the adaptation front. These agencies need to be less reactive; they must be able to acquire the technological sophistication in order to anticipate what kind of disasters are likely to occur where, thus minimizing the damage to lives and property.
Then again, this is just another summit where well-crafted pledges and dramatic declarations are made. The celebration of climate change consciousness week and the passage of the law are crucial first steps that need to be followed through at every level to make them work. Climate change is not something you talk about and then forget. The threat won't go away – unless the whole world acts, and drastically.
And no, that's not being theatrical.
**
Readers' reactions:
Hello Adelle,
In just a few days from now, on December 7, 2009, the UN Climate Change Conference will be held in Copenhagen for government leaders to initiate programs that would forestall catastrophic disasters caused by unpredictable shifting of weather patterns.
The conferees are expected to discuss the recent severe floodings and landslides in the Philippines; the similar calamities in Bangladesh, Vietnam and even South America; the accelerating loss of ice sheets in Greenland and Antartica; the melting of glaciers and the reduced water supply during the dry months around the world.
All these environmental calamities are causing tremendous impact on our global health and safety, our food production, our security, not to mention the widespread of pests and diseases among our people.
Euro RSCG Worldwide, our mother communications agency, has partnered with Kofi Annan’s Global Humanitarian Foundation to campaign for climate justice. Our global CEO,
David Jones, has initiated the “Tck Tck Tck Time for Climate Justice” campaign, the biggest advocacy geared towards seeking a solution for climate change.
Euro RSCG employees, sister companies and clients are doing their part and are joining the biggest human clock that’s ticking down towards the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen on December 7. We would like to invite you, your family and your friends to join us in the campaign to save Planet Earth.
The clock is ticking. It’s about time we fought for the world. Please request your family, friends, and everyone in your network to upload their tck, and support the fight for climate justice. Let our voice be heard. Let us follow through with the decisions to be made this December in Copenhagen.
For now, I’d simply ask you to log on to www.timeforclimatejustice.org and join the world in waiting for the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. Upload your 1 second tck video and be part of the world wide supporters of Climate Justice. You may also visit The Global Alliance for Climate Justice on Facebook.
Sincerely yours,
Charlie
Charlie A. Agatep
President & CEO Agatep Associates
Group Chairman Euro RSCG Manila
16th Floor Robinsons PCI Bank Tower,
ADB Avenue corner Poveda St,
Ortigas Center Pasig City 1600
Philippines
T [632] 638-6057 to 63
T (632) 631 7888
M +63 917 533 4596
E charlie.agatep@agatep.com
**
Good Morning Adelle,
I hope the Copenhagen leaders did not forget the effects of beef production and animal worship India has 1/3 of the global population of cattle.
Be Blessed!
Mario
Students in colorful native costumes crowded Heroes Hall in Malacañang on Friday morning. There were dancers, singers, musicians who played tunes by blowing on used soft-drink bottles filled with varying amounts of water. A mural by an Isabela-based artist was unveiled. A woman from Palau rendered a native chant.
The event was not, per se, a cultural exhibition. During the multi-media summit on climate change, art was not an end in itself but a tool. For the rest of Climate Change Consciousness Week – November 19 to 25, according to Presidential Proclamation 1667 – a host of similar activities will supplement forums and discussions on the issue. The visual and performing arts are a force in fostering awareness, and beyond that social transformation and committed action. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts tries to popularize among citizens a concept that's highly technical – and downright scary.
Menacing prospects
There is a tipping point of irreversible climate change, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change quotes scientists as saying. That will be the day when the level of greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere would be 450 parts per million, roughly by the year 2050. When this point is reached, a two-degree centigrade increase in global temperature will occur. Sea levels will rise by six to seven meters. Here in the Philippines, such an increase in sea levels will reduce the land areas of Mactan and Guimaras. Vast areas of Malabon, Navotas and Manila (including the newsroom at the Port Area where I write this column now), will be permanently under water.
Today the greenhouse level stands at 372 parts per million. Yet, even before the tipping point is reached, “creeping” climate change is already upon us. The 20 or so typhoons that visit us every year are getting stronger and more frequent, says Secretary Heherson Alvarez, the presidential adviser on climate change. Typhoons only used to average 120-140 kilometer per hour; now they are in the vicinity of 180-200 kph. There are unprecedented floods and landslides, as we so painfully know.
There are two approaches to climate change: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation refers to acts and omissions that keep us from releasing more carbon into the atmosphere. Thus we push back the tipping point. On the other hand, adaptation refers to dealing with the effects of climate change – the disasters that we are seeing now – because, precisely, climate change is not just a looming prospect. It's already here.
Copenhagen and the Philippine position
Next month, world leaders will be gathering in Copenhagen, Denmark to negotiate a treaty to succeed the Kyoto protocol that sought to get countries of the world to cut emission targets, depending on their level of industrialization. Kyoto is expiring in 2012 and is largely viewed as inadequate, especially since the United States of America, the world's biggest economy and the second-largest carbon emitter (next to China) never ratified it.
President Barack Obama has indicated his country would walk the talk this time around. But will US senators, who ultimately have to pass legislation, back him up? Americans may not be too keen on cutting their emissions if it would crimp industrial output – especially in a recession. The Chinese, on the other hand, insist that America has had a big head start in getting rich by dumping carbon into the air. Why should China set its limits when its economy caught up only recently? Indeed it's going to be a political issue, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, says. Let's just hope that for this one, concerns of the human race would be more important than each nation's output issues. Countries that stand to lose the most need all the help they can get from the real culprits.
This is the Philippines' clout and personality in the talks, never mind that we are a low-carbon emitter. The 1995 Manila Declaration,which brought together 38 countries most at risk from climate change, affirmed the extreme vulnerability of archipelagic and island-nations. (The woman who chanted was the Hon. Faustina Rehuher Marugg, minister of community and cultural affairs of Palau, a country which may just share the Philippines' fate in the long run.)
So in the Copenhagen talks, the Philippines, along with other vulnerable nations, will press for deep and early emission cuts by industrialized nations. Specifically, our team will press for cuts of at least 30 percent between 2013 and 2017, at least 50 percent between 2018 and 2020, and at least 95 percent by 2050, all from 1990 levels.
Then again, these are just demands, and like other multi-lateral talks, there will be plenty of haggling and power play. We hope the delegates do not get stalled by their national interests and forget that each day wasted on disagreement brings all of mankind a little closer to tipping point.
An administrative challenge
Alvarez says that if there was something the country realized from the disasters we've seen in recent years, it is that we sorely lack a national climate change action plan. These are extraordinary times and we should be on war footing against climate change, he says. All sectors must be mobilized.
Aside from his advisory office, Alvarez also oversees the reorganized Presidential Task Force on Climate Change,which the President chairs. These agencies will eventually be absorbed by the Climate Change Commission, created by Republic Act 9729, signed by the President just last October. He hopes that the commission will be able to craft a national blueprint for this extraordinary war.
Then again, some sectors say that there are already too many commissions under the Office of the President and that a department-level body is needed to ensure that any initiatives are sustained regardless of political developments. Alvarez agrees, and believes these gaps in the law will be addressed soon enough. For now the main challenge is to get the emerging agencies going, especially in the adaptations aspect, seeing how destructive recent disasters have been.
But is it possible to sustain the momentum, especially since the elections – and the circus that goes with it -- are just around the corner? The key here is to make commitment to the mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change an election issue. Since the would-be commission would be under the Office of the President, the next chief executive should be committed to the cause, lest it get taken over by the other equally pressing concerns of the presidency.
Will Alvarez himself seek an elective post next year? “Well, my party (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) is nominating me,” he says, “but I would rather stay here and focus on these emerging agencies.” He adds that while the country's position on mitigation is already pretty much settled, much work remains to be done on the adaptation front. These agencies need to be less reactive; they must be able to acquire the technological sophistication in order to anticipate what kind of disasters are likely to occur where, thus minimizing the damage to lives and property.
Then again, this is just another summit where well-crafted pledges and dramatic declarations are made. The celebration of climate change consciousness week and the passage of the law are crucial first steps that need to be followed through at every level to make them work. Climate change is not something you talk about and then forget. The threat won't go away – unless the whole world acts, and drastically.
And no, that's not being theatrical.
**
Readers' reactions:
Hello Adelle,
In just a few days from now, on December 7, 2009, the UN Climate Change Conference will be held in Copenhagen for government leaders to initiate programs that would forestall catastrophic disasters caused by unpredictable shifting of weather patterns.
The conferees are expected to discuss the recent severe floodings and landslides in the Philippines; the similar calamities in Bangladesh, Vietnam and even South America; the accelerating loss of ice sheets in Greenland and Antartica; the melting of glaciers and the reduced water supply during the dry months around the world.
All these environmental calamities are causing tremendous impact on our global health and safety, our food production, our security, not to mention the widespread of pests and diseases among our people.
Euro RSCG Worldwide, our mother communications agency, has partnered with Kofi Annan’s Global Humanitarian Foundation to campaign for climate justice. Our global CEO,
David Jones, has initiated the “Tck Tck Tck Time for Climate Justice” campaign, the biggest advocacy geared towards seeking a solution for climate change.
Euro RSCG employees, sister companies and clients are doing their part and are joining the biggest human clock that’s ticking down towards the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen on December 7. We would like to invite you, your family and your friends to join us in the campaign to save Planet Earth.
The clock is ticking. It’s about time we fought for the world. Please request your family, friends, and everyone in your network to upload their tck, and support the fight for climate justice. Let our voice be heard. Let us follow through with the decisions to be made this December in Copenhagen.
For now, I’d simply ask you to log on to www.timeforclimatejustice.org and join the world in waiting for the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. Upload your 1 second tck video and be part of the world wide supporters of Climate Justice. You may also visit The Global Alliance for Climate Justice on Facebook.
Sincerely yours,
Charlie
Charlie A. Agatep
President & CEO Agatep Associates
Group Chairman Euro RSCG Manila
16th Floor Robinsons PCI Bank Tower,
ADB Avenue corner Poveda St,
Ortigas Center Pasig City 1600
Philippines
T [632] 638-6057 to 63
T (632) 631 7888
M +63 917 533 4596
E charlie.agatep@agatep.com
**
Good Morning Adelle,
I hope the Copenhagen leaders did not forget the effects of beef production and animal worship India has 1/3 of the global population of cattle.
Be Blessed!
Mario
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Obstacle course
In the “About Me” section on the right side of this blog page, one of the adjectives I used to describe myself is “seasoned commuter.” It's a bad season, apparently.
I don't know if I'm getting old,or am becoming more defensive of my person,or if Manila's dangerous elements have just upped their ante. I'd been plying the Pier-Malanday jeepney route on the way home from work for three years now, and suddenly I'm scared. I realized it was not just the waist and back strain I get from lurching sideways aboard the jeep that I despised. My blog entry “Bothered” sums up the revulsion I feel towards a particular segment of the male population, and most of them board the jeep at some point along my route from the office. It does not help that about two or three months ago, the newsroom's chief proofreader, Judy May, was held up along Commonwealth Avenue, her hefty bag and all it contained taken from her. It was the 15th; fortunately her salary which she had just withdrawn was in the pocket of her jeans.
And just last Monday, along McArthur Highway which I thought I knew so well, just after BBB and right before Fatima, another jeep sent an SOS to ours. A hold-up was going on, and the passengers were trapped. We sped on, though, and honked furiously at a parked police car just a few meters ahead of us. When we got closer, we realized that the police car was empty. The policemen were standing some distance away from their car, on the lookout for big trucks and their suspicious cargo. We waved at them and pointed to the direction of the jeep where the hold-up was going on. Did they get the message? I don't know. I had to alight by then; I had reached my stop.
So by Tuesday night I was edgy. I am likewise careful about flagging cabs at that hour (I prefer two-colored ones with known franchises), and sometimes the drivers are so choosy that you want to slam the door on their faces after they have rejected you. Plus a ride would cost me a hundred and sixty, one way. (When you are a single mom, and wed to your career in the print media, whose rewards are many but certainly not financial, that's nothing to sneeze at.) That evening, around nine o clock, I decided it was safer to sit behind the driver rather than at the entrance. Two stocky men in black climbed up the front seat, beside the driver. Beside me was a gangster-type teenager, the kind with the oversize shirt, long fingernails, bling blings and a cap not worn but barely put top of head. At both sides of the entrance,two more men, one in gray and another in blue, were seated. One of them was looking at me, perhaps aware that I was observing everybody.
I tried to take it easy. They went on board maybe Blumentritt and there I was, debating whether I should alight or not. My late Lola used to say that I should follow my “kutob” (gut feel) all the time because it was likely right. But Rizal Avenue was itself only lighted in some points. IN others, it was also not safe aground. By that time I was already nauseous and had difficulty breathing. I wanted out.
On Second Avenue, Kalookan, I did, at the first well-lighted corner. (I realized later that it was lighted because it was a motel and there was a beer house and a life-size image of Marian Rivera holding a beer bucket). I flagged another jeep but noticed all the passengers were male and so shooed it away. Finally, a nice looking cab and a harmless looking old driver stopped in front of me like an angel to the rescue. The smell of the car's interior (it was new,and there were no fancy air fresheners) seemed like the scent of heaven. A safe haven. I fished out my cell phone and shared my predicament with a friend, M.
M listened patiently as I recounted my ordeal over lunch the following day. He suggested I take the train instead. That one was always an option, but since it was such a hassle, I never took it except when it was raining and Recto and R. Papa were flooded.
I tried the train indeed. The two very short jeepney rides (from Pier to Carriedo Station,and from Monumento station to Fatima) did not expose me much to the risks of the route. The only problem was that even at that hour,, the crowd was impossible. The coaches were jampacked. Fortunately, there was a separate section for men and women. So even though I felt like a fish in an overcrowded can of sardines, it was tolerable because all those women were not foreign and threatening to me. They were, like I was, moms tired from work racing to get home to their children – and to the comfort of their beds.
This is not to say it was a fabulous ride. It was not. But it was less unpleasant. There were also all sorts of goodies in Monumento. Apples, oranges, boiled corn, pillow cases, stuffed animals, garlic, onions etcetera etcetera. A feast for the eyes.
The really redeeming part was that I was home just an hour after leaving the office. I may have found a new route home. That is, until that fine day that I can afford a vehicle of my own. THAT would be another challenge.
I don't know if I'm getting old,or am becoming more defensive of my person,or if Manila's dangerous elements have just upped their ante. I'd been plying the Pier-Malanday jeepney route on the way home from work for three years now, and suddenly I'm scared. I realized it was not just the waist and back strain I get from lurching sideways aboard the jeep that I despised. My blog entry “Bothered” sums up the revulsion I feel towards a particular segment of the male population, and most of them board the jeep at some point along my route from the office. It does not help that about two or three months ago, the newsroom's chief proofreader, Judy May, was held up along Commonwealth Avenue, her hefty bag and all it contained taken from her. It was the 15th; fortunately her salary which she had just withdrawn was in the pocket of her jeans.
And just last Monday, along McArthur Highway which I thought I knew so well, just after BBB and right before Fatima, another jeep sent an SOS to ours. A hold-up was going on, and the passengers were trapped. We sped on, though, and honked furiously at a parked police car just a few meters ahead of us. When we got closer, we realized that the police car was empty. The policemen were standing some distance away from their car, on the lookout for big trucks and their suspicious cargo. We waved at them and pointed to the direction of the jeep where the hold-up was going on. Did they get the message? I don't know. I had to alight by then; I had reached my stop.
So by Tuesday night I was edgy. I am likewise careful about flagging cabs at that hour (I prefer two-colored ones with known franchises), and sometimes the drivers are so choosy that you want to slam the door on their faces after they have rejected you. Plus a ride would cost me a hundred and sixty, one way. (When you are a single mom, and wed to your career in the print media, whose rewards are many but certainly not financial, that's nothing to sneeze at.) That evening, around nine o clock, I decided it was safer to sit behind the driver rather than at the entrance. Two stocky men in black climbed up the front seat, beside the driver. Beside me was a gangster-type teenager, the kind with the oversize shirt, long fingernails, bling blings and a cap not worn but barely put top of head. At both sides of the entrance,two more men, one in gray and another in blue, were seated. One of them was looking at me, perhaps aware that I was observing everybody.
I tried to take it easy. They went on board maybe Blumentritt and there I was, debating whether I should alight or not. My late Lola used to say that I should follow my “kutob” (gut feel) all the time because it was likely right. But Rizal Avenue was itself only lighted in some points. IN others, it was also not safe aground. By that time I was already nauseous and had difficulty breathing. I wanted out.
On Second Avenue, Kalookan, I did, at the first well-lighted corner. (I realized later that it was lighted because it was a motel and there was a beer house and a life-size image of Marian Rivera holding a beer bucket). I flagged another jeep but noticed all the passengers were male and so shooed it away. Finally, a nice looking cab and a harmless looking old driver stopped in front of me like an angel to the rescue. The smell of the car's interior (it was new,and there were no fancy air fresheners) seemed like the scent of heaven. A safe haven. I fished out my cell phone and shared my predicament with a friend, M.
M listened patiently as I recounted my ordeal over lunch the following day. He suggested I take the train instead. That one was always an option, but since it was such a hassle, I never took it except when it was raining and Recto and R. Papa were flooded.
I tried the train indeed. The two very short jeepney rides (from Pier to Carriedo Station,and from Monumento station to Fatima) did not expose me much to the risks of the route. The only problem was that even at that hour,, the crowd was impossible. The coaches were jampacked. Fortunately, there was a separate section for men and women. So even though I felt like a fish in an overcrowded can of sardines, it was tolerable because all those women were not foreign and threatening to me. They were, like I was, moms tired from work racing to get home to their children – and to the comfort of their beds.
This is not to say it was a fabulous ride. It was not. But it was less unpleasant. There were also all sorts of goodies in Monumento. Apples, oranges, boiled corn, pillow cases, stuffed animals, garlic, onions etcetera etcetera. A feast for the eyes.
The really redeeming part was that I was home just an hour after leaving the office. I may have found a new route home. That is, until that fine day that I can afford a vehicle of my own. THAT would be another challenge.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Ship of the young
(photo courtesy of MST's Lino Santos. So I was on board a big ship -- while it was docked. Next time I'll make sure I'll be sailing on one.)
published 16 Nov 2009, Manila Standard Today
On Thursday morning at 10 o clock, MS Fuji Maru docked into Pier 13 of the South Harbor in Manila. The Japanese ship had on board a curious group of people. Aside from the usual crew who actually get the ship to sail and stay on course, the bulk of the passengers were between the ages of 18 and 30. There were more than 300 of them, 39 from Japan and 28 each from Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and yes, Myanmar.
The journey started in Japan where the participating youths (PYs, as they call themselves) went through a two-week orientation and country program. They were acquainted with their co-participants both from their home countries and their counterparts from other countries. They paid courtesy calls to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and to the prince and princess. They went around Japan and were educated on Japanese culture and system.
This year, Manila is the first stop of the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth, the 36th since the very first ship sailed in 1974. The participating youths stayed four days here and left yesterday, Sunday, to sail again for Malaysia. Another four days there, and then it's off to Singapore, and then Thailand,and then Brunei. On December 17 the ship is expected to return to Japan where it started. The program lasts 53 days.
Is it a cruise, an extended party? Sure it is, but its more than that. The SSEAYP is conducted by the government of Japan pursuant to its effort to forge closer ties with member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. On board the ship and in the various ports of call in the host countries are activities organized to provide participants with the best opportunities in all aspects-- cultural,political, social.
It's not as though the participants will be there to simply soak up everything the program has to offer, either. These young people are themselves achievers to begin with in their chosen fields. They are student leaders and professionals who have shown great potential in their respective areas. The best of the best, so to speak. After all, the activities are so designed to enable the participants to learn not just from the experience but from interacting with one another. The PYs must have something to bring to the table as well.
On board the ship, the participants are divided into eleven groups called Solidarity Groups). There are country introductions,club and other activities to better acquaint the PYs with the traditions and cultures of their counterparts. There are film festivals, sports competitions and food parties. Aside from these social interactions, discussion programs take up most of the participants' time. They talk about cross-cultural understanding, environment,food culture/food and nutrition education, international relations, school education, traditional culture,volunteer activities and youth development. They come up with conclusions, recommendations in a paper and present these to the whole group.
Upon stopping at each of the host countries, two or three Pys (from different countries) are adopted by local families for three days and two nights. This is called the homestay program. The participants also pay courtesy calls to ranking government officials, attend welcome/ send-off ceremonies and visit institutions in the field of education, culture,social welfare. Last year's participants visited two television stations, two universities, a city hall, a museum, the central bank, the Supreme Court, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and a Gawad Kalinga community in the Baseco compound.
**
Ariel Miguel Ortilla, 21, from Quezon City and Norianne Lou Frondoza, 28, from Central Mindanao are two of the participating youths in this year's program. In a press conference just after the ship's arrival at the Manila South Harbor, they narrated how they heard about the program, how they submitted their applications and what their expectations were for the next few weeks. They believe they will be better Filipinos, better participants in regional and world affairs – and better individuals.
“SSEAYP means different things to different participants,” writes Anna Oposa, a 2008 PY, in the newsletter of the National Youth Commission (www.youth.net.ph), the agency behind the Philippine participation in the program. “It was a perfect balance of learning, fun and adventure.”
Balance is apparently the key word. The commission is the agency that accepts and evaluates applications from those who want to participate in the program. It tries to give equal opportunities to male and female applicants from all regions in the country. There is also an attempt to ensure there are as many 18 year olds as there were twenty-somethings or those pushing thirty.
“Today's young people are decidedly more outspoken,” says Tomoko Dodo, who was an administrative staff for the SSEAYP in the 1970s. Now she is on board the ship again, at least as it docked in Manila, in her capacity as director of the Japan Information and Cultural Center. “Fortunately there are also better ways to keep in touch,” referring to the Internet and the mobile phone.
Keeping in touch, after all, has been part of the post-SSEAYP experience. One would like to know how people you have spent fifty-something days on a ship with eventually turned out. Lifelong friendships are formed, but there are also alumni groups and other means to track how former PYs have gone on after the program and as they progressed in their careers. The participants are likely to emerge as their country's next decision-makers. It is good for them to gain a regional perspective and appreciate similarities and differences between Filipinos and other peoples.
They say that if you want to know where a country is going, you should look at the faces of its youth. Are they grim, detached, disillusioned? Or are they committed, optimistic?
“We can't wait for what the world has in store,” Oposa says, “We can't wait for what we can give the world as well.”
Imagine if only more young people in the Philippines and Asia – not just the best of the best – can be empowered to rise above the constraints of poverty, lack of education, ill governance and armed conflict and embrace this enthusiasm, too.
Mrs. Complex
“Talent is universal, opportunity is not.”
Will you not be fascinated by a woman who has forgiven her husband after a very high-profile indiscretion (several, actually), and who has accepted a job where a former opponent is now her boss? Who has lived through the suicide of her best (male) friend and tried to redefine the role of first lady, and, failing, receded to the background?
Such a person would have to be made of tough stuff. That's how I view Hillary Clinton, and that's why I spent Friday morning watching the televised university forum where she talked to young Filipinos who asked her questions ranging from international relations to her girlhood crushes.
She could be terse-looking if she wanted, or needed to, but Mrs. Clinton was as sunny as that morning. ABS-CBN scored the exclusive, so its top anchors were onstage alongside the secretary, three others were scattered in the auditorium while two others were in colleges in the Visayas and Mindanao. Ah, technology. Though the event was held at the UST, the country's other leading universities were represented.
A whirlwind, her visit has been described, and it was true She was here for only twenty four hours, and in that time managed to visit a flood-ravaged school in Marikina, have dinner with the president, grace the forum and lay a wreath at the memorial for war veterans. Was it enough? It appears so. Hillary was already a senior citizen but she was till charming; it is hard to imagine any other from the US government eclipsing her presence. Governor Arnold Schwarenegger, perhaps, or Barack and Michelle Obama. Other than that, Hillary was a star.
She told basketball player Chris Tiu : “Of course the Pac-man's going to win!” She said he was impressed at how the Philippine government has been working to address poverty. Diplomacy at its best? Maybe, but at least she tried to take off the pressure from the government. “People themselves have to take responsibility and organize themselves.”
Hillary had several other nuggets that were a far cry from the lofty motherhood statements – to which you could not relate – mouthed by our politicians. Aside from telling the people not to rely on government all the time, she also offered her view on how to take on a seemingly overwhelming problem: individual solutions. “Mentor a poor child. Change one life at a time.”
Again, diplomacy, when asked about alleged human rights violations by the government specifically the Armed Forces. “It is not perfect here as it is not perfect in other places.” And when Pinky Webb wanted to know whether President Arroyo intimated to her the former's plans for next year's election, Mrs. Clinton said they dealt with each other from administration to administration. In effect, that she saw Mrs. Arroyo as the head of this administration, not as a politician. In other words, it's none of her business. Still, she hinted that she saw Arroyo as on her way out. “It's easier to make decisions when you are on your way out.”
Clinton made her position on other world issues clear. On the dilemma between free trade and protectionism. Myanmar. Armed conflict. Corruption. Automation. Climate change. Migration. These were complex issues but she managed to articulate her views succintly. She connected well with the young folks,who were in that hall and elsewhere.
It helped, I guess,that the young people were a little starstruck with the woman who spoke candidly about her failed nomination as the presidential bet of the Democratic Party. IN the end, what made the forum a success was her willingness to take on complex questions as well as personal ones. And as she waved goodbye to the adoring crowd (adoring anchors,as well) I wondered what the complex Mrs. Clinton was REALLY thinking at that very hour.
Will you not be fascinated by a woman who has forgiven her husband after a very high-profile indiscretion (several, actually), and who has accepted a job where a former opponent is now her boss? Who has lived through the suicide of her best (male) friend and tried to redefine the role of first lady, and, failing, receded to the background?
Such a person would have to be made of tough stuff. That's how I view Hillary Clinton, and that's why I spent Friday morning watching the televised university forum where she talked to young Filipinos who asked her questions ranging from international relations to her girlhood crushes.
She could be terse-looking if she wanted, or needed to, but Mrs. Clinton was as sunny as that morning. ABS-CBN scored the exclusive, so its top anchors were onstage alongside the secretary, three others were scattered in the auditorium while two others were in colleges in the Visayas and Mindanao. Ah, technology. Though the event was held at the UST, the country's other leading universities were represented.
A whirlwind, her visit has been described, and it was true She was here for only twenty four hours, and in that time managed to visit a flood-ravaged school in Marikina, have dinner with the president, grace the forum and lay a wreath at the memorial for war veterans. Was it enough? It appears so. Hillary was already a senior citizen but she was till charming; it is hard to imagine any other from the US government eclipsing her presence. Governor Arnold Schwarenegger, perhaps, or Barack and Michelle Obama. Other than that, Hillary was a star.
She told basketball player Chris Tiu : “Of course the Pac-man's going to win!” She said he was impressed at how the Philippine government has been working to address poverty. Diplomacy at its best? Maybe, but at least she tried to take off the pressure from the government. “People themselves have to take responsibility and organize themselves.”
Hillary had several other nuggets that were a far cry from the lofty motherhood statements – to which you could not relate – mouthed by our politicians. Aside from telling the people not to rely on government all the time, she also offered her view on how to take on a seemingly overwhelming problem: individual solutions. “Mentor a poor child. Change one life at a time.”
Again, diplomacy, when asked about alleged human rights violations by the government specifically the Armed Forces. “It is not perfect here as it is not perfect in other places.” And when Pinky Webb wanted to know whether President Arroyo intimated to her the former's plans for next year's election, Mrs. Clinton said they dealt with each other from administration to administration. In effect, that she saw Mrs. Arroyo as the head of this administration, not as a politician. In other words, it's none of her business. Still, she hinted that she saw Arroyo as on her way out. “It's easier to make decisions when you are on your way out.”
Clinton made her position on other world issues clear. On the dilemma between free trade and protectionism. Myanmar. Armed conflict. Corruption. Automation. Climate change. Migration. These were complex issues but she managed to articulate her views succintly. She connected well with the young folks,who were in that hall and elsewhere.
It helped, I guess,that the young people were a little starstruck with the woman who spoke candidly about her failed nomination as the presidential bet of the Democratic Party. IN the end, what made the forum a success was her willingness to take on complex questions as well as personal ones. And as she waved goodbye to the adoring crowd (adoring anchors,as well) I wondered what the complex Mrs. Clinton was REALLY thinking at that very hour.
The commission on morals
It was still, in all honesty, probably a long shot. I am talking about the application for party-list accreditation of Ang Ladlad, the group that seeks to represent the Filipino lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Congress. Headed by the fuschia barong-sporting Danton Remoto, professor of English at the Ateneo de Manila University, Ang Ladlad already sought to be recognized – and failed – in 007. It tried again, for next year's polls,but a recent resolution by the Commission on Elections dashed the group's dreams anew.
Admittedly this country is not ready for such an edgy step. The Catholic church here remains a force – for good or for otherwise is debatable,of course, as that BBC debate I wrote about shows – to be reckoned with. There is no question with Jesus Christ, who is Lord and Savior and Healer and Comforter all at the same time. But the church officials, or at least some of whom we see on tv, pontificating, are a different thing altogether. They are almighty, unforgiving,absolute. They will scare the hooves out of you with the talk of eternal damnation. (I have yet to be enticed by the thought of eternal life. It sounds so...boring. like Twittering without the 140-character limit. I try to be a good girl for the here and now. But that's another entry.) See how they have stymied the passage of the reproductive health bill, despite its urgency? We're talking lives here, talking choices. And the politicians are mighty scared.
Ladlad tried, nonetheless, even though the prospect of success was grim at this point. It was determined to fight on. Ten, twenty years from now,who knows? Things change. Perceptions widen. But what got the LGBT community's goat was the basis of dismissal of its petition for accreditation: moral grounds.
And no, it was not the Catholic Bishops conference of the Philippines or any other denomination that heard and decided Ladlad's case. It was the Commission on Elections, specifically the second division which is composed of Commissioner Lucenito Tagle and two others.
According to the Comelec, Ladlad tolerates AND advocates immorality which offends religious beliefs. The commission proceeds to quoting several verses from the New Testament and the words of one Lehman Strauss in Homosexuality: The Christian Perspective. The resolution also lifts from The Muslim View of Homosexuality by Roy Waller.
Strauss also says “older practicing homosexuals are a threat to the youth.” the commission apparently believes him hook line and sinker because it proceeded to cite the provision of the Constitution mandating the state to protect the youth from moral and spiritual degradation.
We often complain of the Church stepping into the bounds of government. What's happening is the other way around, a government agency trying to act as the moral guardian of it's people. I am sure th commissioners who decided on the case belonged to another generation, a generation that saw homosexuality as an aberration, a sickness that must be cured. Are they at fault or are they simply prisoners of their time? The problem is they have a choice to set themselves free. Are they embracing that choice? Do they even know they have it?
I'm biased, of course. I grew up with a gay father figure, Papa Edwin, who was my mother's youngest brother. Danton himself was my professor at the Ateneo and Reader of my senior thesis (he gave me two As). I have gay and lesbian friends. Without these circumstances, will I be any less forgiving? I don't think so.
The Comelec should have restrained itself from making moral judgments. Who's to say what's moral and immoral? If it had wanted to deny Ang Ladlad its accreditation,it should have simply pointed out that the group did not represent a marginalized sector of society. The discourse was utterly uncalled for.
Admittedly this country is not ready for such an edgy step. The Catholic church here remains a force – for good or for otherwise is debatable,of course, as that BBC debate I wrote about shows – to be reckoned with. There is no question with Jesus Christ, who is Lord and Savior and Healer and Comforter all at the same time. But the church officials, or at least some of whom we see on tv, pontificating, are a different thing altogether. They are almighty, unforgiving,absolute. They will scare the hooves out of you with the talk of eternal damnation. (I have yet to be enticed by the thought of eternal life. It sounds so...boring. like Twittering without the 140-character limit. I try to be a good girl for the here and now. But that's another entry.) See how they have stymied the passage of the reproductive health bill, despite its urgency? We're talking lives here, talking choices. And the politicians are mighty scared.
Ladlad tried, nonetheless, even though the prospect of success was grim at this point. It was determined to fight on. Ten, twenty years from now,who knows? Things change. Perceptions widen. But what got the LGBT community's goat was the basis of dismissal of its petition for accreditation: moral grounds.
And no, it was not the Catholic Bishops conference of the Philippines or any other denomination that heard and decided Ladlad's case. It was the Commission on Elections, specifically the second division which is composed of Commissioner Lucenito Tagle and two others.
According to the Comelec, Ladlad tolerates AND advocates immorality which offends religious beliefs. The commission proceeds to quoting several verses from the New Testament and the words of one Lehman Strauss in Homosexuality: The Christian Perspective. The resolution also lifts from The Muslim View of Homosexuality by Roy Waller.
Strauss also says “older practicing homosexuals are a threat to the youth.” the commission apparently believes him hook line and sinker because it proceeded to cite the provision of the Constitution mandating the state to protect the youth from moral and spiritual degradation.
We often complain of the Church stepping into the bounds of government. What's happening is the other way around, a government agency trying to act as the moral guardian of it's people. I am sure th commissioners who decided on the case belonged to another generation, a generation that saw homosexuality as an aberration, a sickness that must be cured. Are they at fault or are they simply prisoners of their time? The problem is they have a choice to set themselves free. Are they embracing that choice? Do they even know they have it?
I'm biased, of course. I grew up with a gay father figure, Papa Edwin, who was my mother's youngest brother. Danton himself was my professor at the Ateneo and Reader of my senior thesis (he gave me two As). I have gay and lesbian friends. Without these circumstances, will I be any less forgiving? I don't think so.
The Comelec should have restrained itself from making moral judgments. Who's to say what's moral and immoral? If it had wanted to deny Ang Ladlad its accreditation,it should have simply pointed out that the group did not represent a marginalized sector of society. The discourse was utterly uncalled for.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Doing away with mercury
published 9 Nov 2009, MST
When I was a kid I had this toy, a maze enclosed in hard transparent plastic, which you had to tilt up or down or sidewards so that a droplet of liquid could find its way through the broken lines and corners. I remember being fascinated with the beautiful silvery-white bead as it moved to find its way through my puzzle. Later I learned that the bead was called mercury, although another term, quicksilver, was more descriptive.
It is the same thing found in thermometers and sphygmomanometers (blood-pressure checking device). Mercury easily reacts to changes in temperature and pressure, hence its use in these instruments. But when these instruments break, and the mercury is released into the air, that’s where the danger begins.
“Mercury is toxic,” says the World Health Organization in a policy paper, “It may be fatal if inhaled and harmful if absorbed through the skin. Around 80 percent of the inhaled mercury vapor is absorbed in the blood through the lungs. It may cause harmful effects on the nervous, digestive, respiratory, immune systems and to the kidneys, besides causing lung damage. Adverse health effects from mercury exposure can be: tremors, impaired vision and hearing, paralysis, insomnia, emotional instability, deficits during fetal development, and attention deficits and developmental delays during childhood.’’ In 1991, the WHO conclude that a safe level of mercury exposure, below which no adverse effects can be had, had never been established.
There has been an international effort to ban mercury-containing thermometers and sphygmomanometers in Swedish, French, Danish, Norwegian and American hospitals since the early 1990s. Initiatives in Southeast Asia came much later, in 2006,with the first Southeast Asia Conference on Mercury in Health Care. Here in the Philippines, the Health Department released Administrative Order 21 in July 2008. The order established guidelines for the gradual phase out of mercury in all Philippine health care institutions.
The AO mandates all hospitals to immediately discontinue the distribution of mercury thermometers to patients, stick to the prescribed timeline in phasing out mercury in their facilities and undertake a mercury minimization program.
***
Faye Ferrer, program officer for Southeast Asia for Healthcare Without Harm—a Virginia, USA-based international non-government organization that seeks to “implement ecologically sound and healthy alternatives to health care practices that pollute the environment and contribute to disease”—says the Philippine situation is unique because of the popularity of mercury-based thermometers here. In hospitals, for instance, there is an almost 1:1 ratio of beds to thermometers. Once the patient goes home, he is given a kit which includes a thermometer. These are also available over the counter.
Ferrer describes mercury as a “traitor.” It is widely used in hospitals and households, it is odorless and beautiful to look at. You would not think it is toxic. She recalls the mercury-poisoning case in St. Andrew’s School in Parañaque City in 2006. The teacher, who should have known better, passed a beaker containing mercury to the class. The unsuspecting children were fascinated with the substance’s properties. Soon members of that class had to be rushed to the hospital and one of them now has an advanced case of Alzheimer’s disease. “How can you ever compensate for a future that has been lost?” Ferrer asks.
Mercury poisoning is not limited to people who come in contact with the element. The moment it is released into the air, it travels and eventually collects in waterways. Some people who have been exposed to mercury do not manifest the symptoms, but it is their children who do.
Still, Ferrer credits the Health Department, especially Secretary Francisco Duque, for its commitment to the phase-out program, which targets all hospitals to be mercury-free by the end of 2010. Hospitals, both public and private, have generally been compliant to the drive. Healthcare Without Harm has recognized 16 hospitals (one in General Santos, one in Tuguegarao, two in Baguio and 12 in Metro Manila) for their phaseout efforts. Other hospitals are not doing so bad, either. It helps that the Health Department has set complying with the AO as a condition to the issuance or the renewal of licenses to operate.
But the phaseout is just part of a comprehensive program to stamp out mercury in health care settings. Ultimately, there is really no place to dump all the mercury that has been rounded up. Certainly it cannot be mixed with other waste materials. It cannot be destroyed, too, without exponentially raising the dangers. Last month, HCWH gathered stakeholders to a forum that sought to resolve the issue of an intermediate storage facility for mercury.
The Environment Department is expected to set up the guidelines for long-term collection and storage of mercury phased out from health care facilities. But the department is already saddled with too many responsibilities (and constrained by limited funds) so that it argues that there is no need to establish new guidelines for mercury. It already has a Chemical Control Order for Mercury and Mercury Compounds (Administrative Order 38, series of 1997). The Department’s representatives, however, concede that the control order needs review and expansion. There will be more talks to settle this issue.
For now the more pressing concern is educating citizens on what to do if their mercury-based thermometers break. Hospital staff already know what to do. They are provided with “spill kits” that would enable them to put away the mercury safely. What about households? Not everybody is aware, in the first place, that mercury is toxic and that it is not safe to treat a broken fever gauge as you would a discarded pen.
Here is the prescribed how-to: The area should be evacuated and internal ventilation should be turned off. Use a face mask to avoid inhaling mercury vapor. Use clothes and shoes that can be discarded. Remove all jewelry as mercury sticks to metal. Put on rubber or latex gloves. Identify the affected surface and locate the mercury beads. Use an eye dropper or a needle-less syringe to draw up the beads. Use sticky tape to collect hard-to-see beads. Place everything in a zip-lock bag. Gather every item used in the clean-up in a leak-proof bag, label it and put it way. Finally, keep the affected area ventilated to the outside for at least 24 hours. Do NOT use a vacuum cleaner. If it’s a sphygmomanometer that broke, contact the Health Department immediately, This is so because there is a bigger amount of mercury involved.
Although digital thermometers and sphygmomanometers are gaining popularity, mercury based ones are still very much in the market. Why, a few months ago I was able to get one from Mercury (a coincidence, I suppose) Drug. It is hoped that the campaign for the phaseout of mercury will kill the demand, and soon.
We have yet to hear about other sectors’ own efforts to stamp out this deadly element’s use. Workers in small-scale mining communities who are exposed to mercury for prolonged periods are unfortunate because it is highly likely they aren’t even aware of the perils of their job. Do they have a choice? What protection and livelihood alternatives does their local government give them?
On the other hand, the Philippine Dental Association has said it was no longer using mercury-based dental amalgams for aesthetic purposes, according to Ferrer. Nonetheless, in dental missions to far-flung rural communities, this kind of “pasta” is still the most popular. Again, ignorance and lack of access to alternatives are the main problems.
As for my toy, I honestly don’t know what became of it. I’ve transferred houses at least four times since and I don’t remember bringing the maze with me. Even if it’s a long shot, I’m hoping that it has not been broken and then somebody who knows about mercury’s real ugly nature finds it and puts it away the proper way.
adellechua@gmail.com
**
Readers' Reactions
from George Hodghes III
If you are interested in mass exposure to mercury, look at the CFL lights being used both in residences and in workplaces. The disposal situation is also a problem.
**
It is a good one. More reasoned writing. Some of our reporters,
reporter writes at the top of their mouths. Some seem to be
just feeling [filling] space.
Max Fabella
**
Adelle, I am a toxicologist with the health department in Michigan in the US and saw your article/editorial on the Internet. I often help people who have had mercury spills and thought you and others might be interested in a video about mercury vapors that was made by the US EPA and a university here in the states. You can view the video at our website: www.michigan.gov/mercury . There is a link on the opening page for the video. If you'd like, I can mail you a CD of it too. Thank you for educating people on the dangers of this metal.
Christina Bush, Toxicologist
Michigan Department of Community Health
Bureau of Epidemiology
Division of Environmental Health
Toxicology and Response Section
Capitol View Building, 4th Floor
201 Townsend Street
Lansing, MI 48913
BUSHCR@michigan.gov
www.michigan.gov/mdch-toxics
V (517) 335-9717
Toll Free 1-(800) 648-6942 ("MI TOXIC")
F (517) 335-9775
When I was a kid I had this toy, a maze enclosed in hard transparent plastic, which you had to tilt up or down or sidewards so that a droplet of liquid could find its way through the broken lines and corners. I remember being fascinated with the beautiful silvery-white bead as it moved to find its way through my puzzle. Later I learned that the bead was called mercury, although another term, quicksilver, was more descriptive.
It is the same thing found in thermometers and sphygmomanometers (blood-pressure checking device). Mercury easily reacts to changes in temperature and pressure, hence its use in these instruments. But when these instruments break, and the mercury is released into the air, that’s where the danger begins.
“Mercury is toxic,” says the World Health Organization in a policy paper, “It may be fatal if inhaled and harmful if absorbed through the skin. Around 80 percent of the inhaled mercury vapor is absorbed in the blood through the lungs. It may cause harmful effects on the nervous, digestive, respiratory, immune systems and to the kidneys, besides causing lung damage. Adverse health effects from mercury exposure can be: tremors, impaired vision and hearing, paralysis, insomnia, emotional instability, deficits during fetal development, and attention deficits and developmental delays during childhood.’’ In 1991, the WHO conclude that a safe level of mercury exposure, below which no adverse effects can be had, had never been established.
There has been an international effort to ban mercury-containing thermometers and sphygmomanometers in Swedish, French, Danish, Norwegian and American hospitals since the early 1990s. Initiatives in Southeast Asia came much later, in 2006,with the first Southeast Asia Conference on Mercury in Health Care. Here in the Philippines, the Health Department released Administrative Order 21 in July 2008. The order established guidelines for the gradual phase out of mercury in all Philippine health care institutions.
The AO mandates all hospitals to immediately discontinue the distribution of mercury thermometers to patients, stick to the prescribed timeline in phasing out mercury in their facilities and undertake a mercury minimization program.
***
Faye Ferrer, program officer for Southeast Asia for Healthcare Without Harm—a Virginia, USA-based international non-government organization that seeks to “implement ecologically sound and healthy alternatives to health care practices that pollute the environment and contribute to disease”—says the Philippine situation is unique because of the popularity of mercury-based thermometers here. In hospitals, for instance, there is an almost 1:1 ratio of beds to thermometers. Once the patient goes home, he is given a kit which includes a thermometer. These are also available over the counter.
Ferrer describes mercury as a “traitor.” It is widely used in hospitals and households, it is odorless and beautiful to look at. You would not think it is toxic. She recalls the mercury-poisoning case in St. Andrew’s School in Parañaque City in 2006. The teacher, who should have known better, passed a beaker containing mercury to the class. The unsuspecting children were fascinated with the substance’s properties. Soon members of that class had to be rushed to the hospital and one of them now has an advanced case of Alzheimer’s disease. “How can you ever compensate for a future that has been lost?” Ferrer asks.
Mercury poisoning is not limited to people who come in contact with the element. The moment it is released into the air, it travels and eventually collects in waterways. Some people who have been exposed to mercury do not manifest the symptoms, but it is their children who do.
Still, Ferrer credits the Health Department, especially Secretary Francisco Duque, for its commitment to the phase-out program, which targets all hospitals to be mercury-free by the end of 2010. Hospitals, both public and private, have generally been compliant to the drive. Healthcare Without Harm has recognized 16 hospitals (one in General Santos, one in Tuguegarao, two in Baguio and 12 in Metro Manila) for their phaseout efforts. Other hospitals are not doing so bad, either. It helps that the Health Department has set complying with the AO as a condition to the issuance or the renewal of licenses to operate.
But the phaseout is just part of a comprehensive program to stamp out mercury in health care settings. Ultimately, there is really no place to dump all the mercury that has been rounded up. Certainly it cannot be mixed with other waste materials. It cannot be destroyed, too, without exponentially raising the dangers. Last month, HCWH gathered stakeholders to a forum that sought to resolve the issue of an intermediate storage facility for mercury.
The Environment Department is expected to set up the guidelines for long-term collection and storage of mercury phased out from health care facilities. But the department is already saddled with too many responsibilities (and constrained by limited funds) so that it argues that there is no need to establish new guidelines for mercury. It already has a Chemical Control Order for Mercury and Mercury Compounds (Administrative Order 38, series of 1997). The Department’s representatives, however, concede that the control order needs review and expansion. There will be more talks to settle this issue.
For now the more pressing concern is educating citizens on what to do if their mercury-based thermometers break. Hospital staff already know what to do. They are provided with “spill kits” that would enable them to put away the mercury safely. What about households? Not everybody is aware, in the first place, that mercury is toxic and that it is not safe to treat a broken fever gauge as you would a discarded pen.
Here is the prescribed how-to: The area should be evacuated and internal ventilation should be turned off. Use a face mask to avoid inhaling mercury vapor. Use clothes and shoes that can be discarded. Remove all jewelry as mercury sticks to metal. Put on rubber or latex gloves. Identify the affected surface and locate the mercury beads. Use an eye dropper or a needle-less syringe to draw up the beads. Use sticky tape to collect hard-to-see beads. Place everything in a zip-lock bag. Gather every item used in the clean-up in a leak-proof bag, label it and put it way. Finally, keep the affected area ventilated to the outside for at least 24 hours. Do NOT use a vacuum cleaner. If it’s a sphygmomanometer that broke, contact the Health Department immediately, This is so because there is a bigger amount of mercury involved.
Although digital thermometers and sphygmomanometers are gaining popularity, mercury based ones are still very much in the market. Why, a few months ago I was able to get one from Mercury (a coincidence, I suppose) Drug. It is hoped that the campaign for the phaseout of mercury will kill the demand, and soon.
We have yet to hear about other sectors’ own efforts to stamp out this deadly element’s use. Workers in small-scale mining communities who are exposed to mercury for prolonged periods are unfortunate because it is highly likely they aren’t even aware of the perils of their job. Do they have a choice? What protection and livelihood alternatives does their local government give them?
On the other hand, the Philippine Dental Association has said it was no longer using mercury-based dental amalgams for aesthetic purposes, according to Ferrer. Nonetheless, in dental missions to far-flung rural communities, this kind of “pasta” is still the most popular. Again, ignorance and lack of access to alternatives are the main problems.
As for my toy, I honestly don’t know what became of it. I’ve transferred houses at least four times since and I don’t remember bringing the maze with me. Even if it’s a long shot, I’m hoping that it has not been broken and then somebody who knows about mercury’s real ugly nature finds it and puts it away the proper way.
adellechua@gmail.com
**
Readers' Reactions
from George Hodghes III
If you are interested in mass exposure to mercury, look at the CFL lights being used both in residences and in workplaces. The disposal situation is also a problem.
**
It is a good one. More reasoned writing. Some of our reporters,
reporter writes at the top of their mouths. Some seem to be
just feeling [filling] space.
Max Fabella
**
Adelle, I am a toxicologist with the health department in Michigan in the US and saw your article/editorial on the Internet. I often help people who have had mercury spills and thought you and others might be interested in a video about mercury vapors that was made by the US EPA and a university here in the states. You can view the video at our website: www.michigan.gov/mercury . There is a link on the opening page for the video. If you'd like, I can mail you a CD of it too. Thank you for educating people on the dangers of this metal.
Christina Bush, Toxicologist
Michigan Department of Community Health
Bureau of Epidemiology
Division of Environmental Health
Toxicology and Response Section
Capitol View Building, 4th Floor
201 Townsend Street
Lansing, MI 48913
BUSHCR@michigan.gov
www.michigan.gov/mdch-toxics
V (517) 335-9717
Toll Free 1-(800) 648-6942 ("MI TOXIC")
F (517) 335-9775
Monday, November 9, 2009
Force for good
Late Sunday evening I chanced upon a debate program on BBC called Intelligence Squared. I would have switched to another channel immediately, because I did not really want anything heavy just before going to bed on a Sunday night. However, the motion around which the debate centered was whether the Catholic church was a force for good in the world. I decided to stay tuned.
I was, after all, a Catholic,being born so,and having attended Catholic schools all my life. But I'm what one would call a “cafeteria Catholic,” picking only the aspects of the faith that suit me while ignoring all the other tenets. Does this make me a candidate for excommunication? Who's to tell?
The arguments were winding down when I tuned in but the issues put forth were all too familiar, particularly the Church's opposition to artificial birth control and homosexuality. One woman described herself as “a Catholic for 38 years until I saw the light.” Now she is a volunteer in Africa helping save women's lives that are put in peril each time they are pregnant yet again.
The most curious part was the before-and-after polls. Before the debate, six hundred plus of the audience said that yes, the Catholic church was a force for good in the world. Eleven hundred plus said it was not. Three hundred plus were undecided. After the debate, only two hundred plus believed the Church a force for good. Eighteen hundred plus now believed the contrary. Only thirty four people remained undecided.
Of course the numbers could have been influenced by the very choice of audience members. If they picked the audience a certain way, I certainly missed it. Were they staunch Catholics or were they skeptics? How malleable were their opinions? Were they students or adults, common people you would find on the street?
Two things. First it is rather alarming to see that even before the debate, the number of people thinking that the Church was NOT a force of good was nearly twice the number of those thinking otherwise. A church, catholic or otherwise, is supposed to exist to be a force of good.
We here in the Philippines have our own dilemma. Majority of the population is Catholic and yet there is strong opinion against the church. I myself have written a few things about the empowerment of the poor through choice, something which the church here appears bent on denying. Support of many Catholics to the still-unpassed reproductive health bill is an example. Apparently people as not as easily dictated upon as before.
The second thing that bothered me was the result of the after-debate survey. Were the debaters chosen to represent the church really just terrible, incoherent speakers? Or do they stand for the church leaders we mortals have come to resent when they pontificate about the righteousness of some and the indulgences of many? Do we get frustrated listening to them that, just out of spite, we do the things they tell us not to do? Just look at the religious in this country. They cannot seem to argue against the bill from a rational perspective. It's always morals, right or wrong, damnation in hell. But what about the quality of life? Where is the morality in living in squalor just because you are not aware that you don't have to deliver a baby every year?
I admit I have not really given my religion a lot of thought. It might be laziness on my part, reluctance to embrace so fundamental a change, or it might be that I have not found a faith that's just the right fit for me. Or maybe I like being Catholic, taking comfort in the familiar concepts that have been drilled into my head by the RVM sisters (twelve years) and the Jesuits (4 years).
It is evident is that Catholicism is losing its hold. Members of its hierarchy are arrogant and self righteous, like the Pharisees that Jesus himself castigated. Their own excesses and indiscretions? These are conveniently swept under the rug. And then Church leaders continue to preach anyway.
I think the Catholic church needs to change its approach, if it's at all possible. Today's generation of believers need more than dogma. They need to feel that they are not being judged right within their faith. Faith is, in the first place, meant to be a source of comfort and nourishment in the darkest of days. In this day and age, the faithful will not continue to be so if you continue to employ the carrot and stick approach of heaven and hell.
They have to respect their members' ability to think for themselves, not be dictated upon. Is that not the best way to glorify God-given intellect? Isn't goodness a journey? Right within the church, we need a change we can believe in. Not only to make us stay, but to make us feel like we are truly in in the first place, warts and all.
I was, after all, a Catholic,being born so,and having attended Catholic schools all my life. But I'm what one would call a “cafeteria Catholic,” picking only the aspects of the faith that suit me while ignoring all the other tenets. Does this make me a candidate for excommunication? Who's to tell?
The arguments were winding down when I tuned in but the issues put forth were all too familiar, particularly the Church's opposition to artificial birth control and homosexuality. One woman described herself as “a Catholic for 38 years until I saw the light.” Now she is a volunteer in Africa helping save women's lives that are put in peril each time they are pregnant yet again.
The most curious part was the before-and-after polls. Before the debate, six hundred plus of the audience said that yes, the Catholic church was a force for good in the world. Eleven hundred plus said it was not. Three hundred plus were undecided. After the debate, only two hundred plus believed the Church a force for good. Eighteen hundred plus now believed the contrary. Only thirty four people remained undecided.
Of course the numbers could have been influenced by the very choice of audience members. If they picked the audience a certain way, I certainly missed it. Were they staunch Catholics or were they skeptics? How malleable were their opinions? Were they students or adults, common people you would find on the street?
Two things. First it is rather alarming to see that even before the debate, the number of people thinking that the Church was NOT a force of good was nearly twice the number of those thinking otherwise. A church, catholic or otherwise, is supposed to exist to be a force of good.
We here in the Philippines have our own dilemma. Majority of the population is Catholic and yet there is strong opinion against the church. I myself have written a few things about the empowerment of the poor through choice, something which the church here appears bent on denying. Support of many Catholics to the still-unpassed reproductive health bill is an example. Apparently people as not as easily dictated upon as before.
The second thing that bothered me was the result of the after-debate survey. Were the debaters chosen to represent the church really just terrible, incoherent speakers? Or do they stand for the church leaders we mortals have come to resent when they pontificate about the righteousness of some and the indulgences of many? Do we get frustrated listening to them that, just out of spite, we do the things they tell us not to do? Just look at the religious in this country. They cannot seem to argue against the bill from a rational perspective. It's always morals, right or wrong, damnation in hell. But what about the quality of life? Where is the morality in living in squalor just because you are not aware that you don't have to deliver a baby every year?
I admit I have not really given my religion a lot of thought. It might be laziness on my part, reluctance to embrace so fundamental a change, or it might be that I have not found a faith that's just the right fit for me. Or maybe I like being Catholic, taking comfort in the familiar concepts that have been drilled into my head by the RVM sisters (twelve years) and the Jesuits (4 years).
It is evident is that Catholicism is losing its hold. Members of its hierarchy are arrogant and self righteous, like the Pharisees that Jesus himself castigated. Their own excesses and indiscretions? These are conveniently swept under the rug. And then Church leaders continue to preach anyway.
I think the Catholic church needs to change its approach, if it's at all possible. Today's generation of believers need more than dogma. They need to feel that they are not being judged right within their faith. Faith is, in the first place, meant to be a source of comfort and nourishment in the darkest of days. In this day and age, the faithful will not continue to be so if you continue to employ the carrot and stick approach of heaven and hell.
They have to respect their members' ability to think for themselves, not be dictated upon. Is that not the best way to glorify God-given intellect? Isn't goodness a journey? Right within the church, we need a change we can believe in. Not only to make us stay, but to make us feel like we are truly in in the first place, warts and all.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Lost and found
Alster Lake in Hamburg
Watching BBC and CNN nowadays sends me to the proverbial memory lane and brings back images I thought I had forgotten. On Monday, November 9, the Berlin Wall will have fallen for twenty years. This event heralded a climate of change in Europe and eventually the world, providing a tangible proof to the dismantling of divisions brought about by the Cold War.
But my German experience is personal. I was there two and a half years ago for a short course on economic and financial journalism. I ended up learning so much more – about the world, about people, about myself. It helped me chart the course of the rest of my life.
It is unfortunate that when I was there I was not yet a blogger. I could have recorded my observations and impressions real time. Had I been blogging then, I wold have done so faithfully, and enthusiastically. I would have produced a respectable online travel journal. Sayang!
But enough of something I cannot anymore do anything about. Now watching the news or reading the IHT gives me goose bumps. I see the Brandeburg Gate, for instance, or parts of the wall, and the empty niches of the Memorial to the Jews, and I read about the border guard who decided to open the darned gate,and I think to myself, the place is just so rich with history – of events and names and places, yes, but also the history of human nature. And suddenly I don't feel inadequate at being an outsider to all these things, somebody from a small nation across the globe, who was a fat and awkward 13 year old in November 1989.
I took many pictures, though, although I missed on a few aspects, failing to capture the rest of my routine (i.e.,train ride to school, what I did on the weekends that I went out, where I bought my yogurt and tea and where I went “dancin' till the morning light.”) I think I have enough. And it was not just one city,either. The photo attached to this entry is one of a lake in Hamburg, taken (with my unassuming but trusty Nokia) one late afternoon. Looking at the lake photos always makes me feel...misty.
Last week I uploaded my photos into an album in my Facebook account. I am be happy to share it with my friends, of course, and am always excited if somebody “likes” the pictures or,moreso, comments on them. But it's not done yet. All of the pictures are posted now but I am not quite finished – I will work on the captions and make them tell a story.
That experience enriched me professionally, and in so many ways besides. I learned to live alone – sleep alone, wake up alone, do chores alone, entertain myself alone. At the same time I gained access to a bigger forest. We always feel as though the Philippines is the universe. It it not. I feel I had been yanked into outer space,or at least the atmosphere, suspended there and made to look down. My perspective now covers a whole lot more. There is suffering here? Oh, yes. But there is also suffering somewhere else. The less unfortunate ones get featured on CNN or BBC. A lot more suffer and die and remain in oblivion.
I learned, too, to overcome certain fears. After sleeping alone in hotel rooms and my apartment for two months, I was convinced that the scariest things are the tricks our own mind plays with us – if we allow it to, that is. Ghosts? There should have been plenty of those in the city where the murder of six million jews was planned. But far scarier are the ghosts of our past. If we do not confront them, head on as we should, then they have the power to haunt us, not only on a full moon's night or on Halloween, but for the rest of our lives. They have the capacity to destroy our well-being, emotional stability, judgment and even relationships with the people we love. Boo.
Finally, I learned not to be scared of getting lost. I know people who would rather stick to the same roads and confine themselves to places within their comfort zones. They are terrified at the prospect of not knowing where they are and having to suffer the indignity of figuring out how to get back on track. I feel lucky that I am not one of those people.
My classmates (all from third world countries) and I were given everything we would need during our stay – a place to live, train tickets, course materials,planned excursions to must-see places – and maps. Among ourselves, we planned activities to bond and get to know one another. We had to look after our own apartments, cook our meals and do our laundry. There were the demands of class work on top of all that (my payroll was also active and I was doing editing and writing for my newspaper from six time zones away.) Despite these, one still had a lot of free time. And that delicious freedom emboldened you to explore.
Getting lost was part of the experience. Sometimes I got lost with Lib, my fellow Filipino. But more often, I got lost alone. I looked for shops, took a look at parks, or simply soaked in the newness and the foreign-ness of it all. The maps hardly made sense and the train stations looked painfully alike and my sense of direction was screwed up and not too many people knew English.
But I always found my way back.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Bothered
“Adelle Chua wonders why the things that did not bother her before do now.”
This was my tweet on Thursday, September 17. One and a half months later, nothing has changed except that sometimes, on really bad days, being bothered becomes an understatement.
I should be clear on the things I do not like. In the course of my days, where I live and work and how I shuttle between these two places (maybe more), I come into contact with people I would rather not see or interact with. Shall I be called a snob for not liking what I see, especially given my very humble beginnings?
To be sure, I'm still not a hotshot either but at least I did my time, earned my keep and have the occasional luxury into peeking into a lifestyle I want and deserve.
Maybe it's precisely because I've worked my ass off all these years and bore the extraordinary lemons that have been thrown my way with great aplomb. That's why I'm starting to feel entitled – and threatened,as well.
I wish to god I did not have to ride a tricyle or a jeep anymore, especially those plying the Valenzuela-Manila route. I think I have had enough dealings with grimy men (the women I don't mind, which is why I am convinced I am just scared and not a snob) who spit on the street, with filthy nails (some have deliberately overgrown nails on the thumb or pinky) and sweaty arms and with brown or blond streaks in their hair. I abhor the way they leer at you and look at you as though they want to take advantage of your naivete and your many concerns, and the way they chuckle if you try to fight or show that you don't like the way they stare. I don't like the way that I am constantly on guard when I am inside the jeep, sizing up each passenger determining whether he is a potential hold upper or sex maniac or simply a poster boy of the working class. I hate those young men who should otherwise be working THEIR asses off making a decent living but instead roam the streets, sniffing rugby, demanding that you give them money when they ask, and spending whatever little they have on fancy bling-bling,cellphone load,cigarettes and alcohol. I notice the inconsiderate way they sit on the jeepney, raising their legs too comfortably as if the place were theirs and there were no other people around. I hate cab drivers who demand a mark-up saying that the destination is too far and isolated and the traffic is bad (as if it's not bad everywhere else). I don't like people who inflict themselves on you and feel uninhibited to ask for your “help” all the time,just because you get by and they don't. Oh Jesus give me a break.
I hate people who feel they can get close. Let them suffocate in their conceit. Sometimes I wonder whether it is more effective to simply turn away, refuse to acknowledge their presence, or fight altogether. Oh my energy is precious. I have a job and I write and I'm a mom to four very challenging children and I run a household on my own and I have big dreams. Why waste it?
Sometimes too I feel like a hypocrite for being disgusted by the type of people I just mentioned above. Here I am, writing about lofty causes like empowering the poor and correcting social inequity. Yet why do I feel so strongly about my not-so-flattering environment? Why do I wish I had been born under more comfortable, more conventional circumstances? I could have devoted all that spent energy into becoming even greater, doing more.
I have to be fair to myself here. I don't want to take off and leave these people to rot in hell, either. Instead I want them to be well-scrubbed, well-fed, well-read. I do not want to deal with another illiterate person who spits on the street and measures his self-worth by the number of illegal things he has done and gotten away with. This country is in the doghouse and anybody in government who says things are getting better has NEVER boarded a jeepney along Avenida Rizal. The problem is that we are stuck with choices from the elite, These people have never even SEEN squalor and chaos in action. (Okay,some have,but they lack the sincerity to effect long-term solutions. They choose instead to dole money to popularize themselves with the poor they say they empathize with.) We don't need a government that provides everything for its people. We need a government that enables people to look after themselves. Raise well-scrubbed,well-fed, and well-read children. Good mannered ones, too.
Tragically, these things don't even cross the minds of the poor. They are too preoccupied with figuring out where to get the next meal and managing their resentment towards people who were born well. Being born into a social group, after all, is a random event.
Getting stuck there, however, is not. One stays a victim of circumstance by choice. You can choose to rise above it all, and through dignified means. But first you have to realize that you can.
This was my tweet on Thursday, September 17. One and a half months later, nothing has changed except that sometimes, on really bad days, being bothered becomes an understatement.
I should be clear on the things I do not like. In the course of my days, where I live and work and how I shuttle between these two places (maybe more), I come into contact with people I would rather not see or interact with. Shall I be called a snob for not liking what I see, especially given my very humble beginnings?
To be sure, I'm still not a hotshot either but at least I did my time, earned my keep and have the occasional luxury into peeking into a lifestyle I want and deserve.
Maybe it's precisely because I've worked my ass off all these years and bore the extraordinary lemons that have been thrown my way with great aplomb. That's why I'm starting to feel entitled – and threatened,as well.
I wish to god I did not have to ride a tricyle or a jeep anymore, especially those plying the Valenzuela-Manila route. I think I have had enough dealings with grimy men (the women I don't mind, which is why I am convinced I am just scared and not a snob) who spit on the street, with filthy nails (some have deliberately overgrown nails on the thumb or pinky) and sweaty arms and with brown or blond streaks in their hair. I abhor the way they leer at you and look at you as though they want to take advantage of your naivete and your many concerns, and the way they chuckle if you try to fight or show that you don't like the way they stare. I don't like the way that I am constantly on guard when I am inside the jeep, sizing up each passenger determining whether he is a potential hold upper or sex maniac or simply a poster boy of the working class. I hate those young men who should otherwise be working THEIR asses off making a decent living but instead roam the streets, sniffing rugby, demanding that you give them money when they ask, and spending whatever little they have on fancy bling-bling,cellphone load,cigarettes and alcohol. I notice the inconsiderate way they sit on the jeepney, raising their legs too comfortably as if the place were theirs and there were no other people around. I hate cab drivers who demand a mark-up saying that the destination is too far and isolated and the traffic is bad (as if it's not bad everywhere else). I don't like people who inflict themselves on you and feel uninhibited to ask for your “help” all the time,just because you get by and they don't. Oh Jesus give me a break.
I hate people who feel they can get close. Let them suffocate in their conceit. Sometimes I wonder whether it is more effective to simply turn away, refuse to acknowledge their presence, or fight altogether. Oh my energy is precious. I have a job and I write and I'm a mom to four very challenging children and I run a household on my own and I have big dreams. Why waste it?
Sometimes too I feel like a hypocrite for being disgusted by the type of people I just mentioned above. Here I am, writing about lofty causes like empowering the poor and correcting social inequity. Yet why do I feel so strongly about my not-so-flattering environment? Why do I wish I had been born under more comfortable, more conventional circumstances? I could have devoted all that spent energy into becoming even greater, doing more.
I have to be fair to myself here. I don't want to take off and leave these people to rot in hell, either. Instead I want them to be well-scrubbed, well-fed, well-read. I do not want to deal with another illiterate person who spits on the street and measures his self-worth by the number of illegal things he has done and gotten away with. This country is in the doghouse and anybody in government who says things are getting better has NEVER boarded a jeepney along Avenida Rizal. The problem is that we are stuck with choices from the elite, These people have never even SEEN squalor and chaos in action. (Okay,some have,but they lack the sincerity to effect long-term solutions. They choose instead to dole money to popularize themselves with the poor they say they empathize with.) We don't need a government that provides everything for its people. We need a government that enables people to look after themselves. Raise well-scrubbed,well-fed, and well-read children. Good mannered ones, too.
Tragically, these things don't even cross the minds of the poor. They are too preoccupied with figuring out where to get the next meal and managing their resentment towards people who were born well. Being born into a social group, after all, is a random event.
Getting stuck there, however, is not. One stays a victim of circumstance by choice. You can choose to rise above it all, and through dignified means. But first you have to realize that you can.
Things to do
Even the terms are daunting by themselves. When you mouth the words “millennium development goals” to the people they are specifically meant to help, all you will likely get are blank stares. And why not? These are big words.
They are still too big even for those who do understand multi-syllabic terms. The MDGs are associated with the United Nations, which brings to mind lofty aspirations—to some, only that —on a global scale.
In 2000, leaders representing members of the community of nations signed a pact to meet across-the-board minimum developmental requirements by the year 2015. There are eight of these goals. One, eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Two, achieve universal primary education. Three, promote gender equality and empower women. Four, reduce child mortality. Five, improve maternal health. Six, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Seven, ensure environmental sustainability. Eight, develop global partnership for environment. Measurable targets were set for each of these goals.
Nine years into the campaign—or six years away from reckoning, whichever way we prefer to look at it—are we even nearer to the goals?
We can’t, of course, speak for other countries but Dulce Marie Saret, advocacy specialist of the United Nations’ Millennium Campaign in the Philippines, can say much about what’s been going on hereabouts.
The first thing Saret will tell you is that we are NOT likely to achieve the most crucial of the goals,specifically the first (on poverty), the second (on primary education), the fifth (on maternal health) and the sixth (on HIV/AIDS and other diseases).
The numbers are depressing. Thirty-three percent of Filipinos live on less that $1 a day. About five-point-two million children are not in school. Eleven mothers die every day due to pregnancy-related causes. HIV cases among the youth nearly tripled from 41 in 2007 to 110 in 2008. And just last year, there were 1.8 million unplanned pregnancies, about one-third of which ended up in abortion.
A series of activities last month sought demand that the nation’s leaders deliver on the commitment to a better life for all. Through Stand United and Take Action Against Poverty, Filipinos scored the Guinness record anew for having the most number of participants taking part in a single event. In 2006, there were 2.1 million participants; in 2007, 7.2 million. In 2008, there were 35.2 million, roughly about the same number as this year. What’s the point of standing up? Maybe it’s because its the opposite of sitting down—what we are trying to tell our leaders is that we are not taking these dire situations sitting down.
Filipinos have always hankered for inclusion in the book of records, even for the most trivial and inconsequential of reasons. This is one exception. The question is, will the message get through, even after all the participants have taken their seats at the end of the day?
Saret admits that the activity has been criticized for this. Is it just an all-out campaign for a single day of activity, before and after which both people go back to their silent tolerance of their leaders’ lack of action? “This is why the agency is now making the MDGs an election issue,” she says. “We have just launched the I Vote for the MDGs campaign.”
There was a forum last Oct. 20 among presidential aspirants who shared their thoughts and answered questions on the development issues raised by the MDGs. The event was organized by the United Nations Development Program and the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines. Alas, only five presidential wannabes bothered showing up. Those who were absent may have reasons, of course, but it would have been good if they can get past the waving and the smiling and the unchallenged remarks and actually share the details of how they intend to make the lives of Filipinos better.
That’s really something we’d like to hear.
***
There will be another forum this month; this time, the focus will be on the environment.
Ondoy, Pepeng, Ramil and very recently, Santi reminded us that disasters set back development efforts big and small. Resources that should otherwise go into creating new opportunities go instead to rehabilitation of people, communities and infrastructure. Hence the already daunting task of improving the lives of millions is made more difficult. “If there is such a thing as ‘disaster-proofing’ the MDGs, we’d like to do that,” Saret says.
The event will coincide with final preparations for the start of the Copenhagen talks where world leaders would negotiate the successor treaty to the Kyoto protocol, which will expire in 2012. The Kyoto pact embodies countries’ commitment to capping their carbon emissions. But it has been deemed inadequate, especially since the United States, the second-largest emitter of carbon, has not ratified it yet.
Then again, one does not have to think on a global scale when talking about the environment. There are pressing issues here where we can actually do something not above our heads. We can discuss forest cover, garbage disposal, slum dwelling and access to potable water. These are the small but tangible ways people can be mobilized for the environment. These issues have become more urgent. Saret believes that because of first-hand experience, people will be more interested and more likely to exert pressure on their leaders to act.
***
The Millennium Campaign, Saret explains, is an agency of the United Nations but is quite unlike the other units that work with government. Instead, the campaign identifies more with civil society which demands that government leaders make good on their commitments to achieve the goals. The targets should be included in the planning of policies and programs, and the effects on people should be sustainable instead of instantaneous and short-term. The campaign is also working on bringing the MDGs to the local level. This way, programs will be easier to jump-start and the results easier to observe, document, and replicate.
But won’t the MDGs fall prey to the designs of politicians? Saret acknowledges that it cannot be avoided. In the end, all that matters is that a family is able to have decent meals,a child goes to school, a mother is able to deliver her baby safely. Let politicians promise a better life for their constituents. But let us badger them into making good on these promises.
Saret says her group has tried to think of other ways to communicate the essence of MDGs to the common man. “Mga Dapat Gawin (Things To Do)” is a pretty accurate shot. Coming right down to it, that’s really what the goals are—simply a list of things to do so more people will enjoy a better quality of life. Easy enough to comprehend? Then again, many things are, as they say, easier said than done.
adellechua@gmail.com
They are still too big even for those who do understand multi-syllabic terms. The MDGs are associated with the United Nations, which brings to mind lofty aspirations—to some, only that —on a global scale.
In 2000, leaders representing members of the community of nations signed a pact to meet across-the-board minimum developmental requirements by the year 2015. There are eight of these goals. One, eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Two, achieve universal primary education. Three, promote gender equality and empower women. Four, reduce child mortality. Five, improve maternal health. Six, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Seven, ensure environmental sustainability. Eight, develop global partnership for environment. Measurable targets were set for each of these goals.
Nine years into the campaign—or six years away from reckoning, whichever way we prefer to look at it—are we even nearer to the goals?
We can’t, of course, speak for other countries but Dulce Marie Saret, advocacy specialist of the United Nations’ Millennium Campaign in the Philippines, can say much about what’s been going on hereabouts.
The first thing Saret will tell you is that we are NOT likely to achieve the most crucial of the goals,specifically the first (on poverty), the second (on primary education), the fifth (on maternal health) and the sixth (on HIV/AIDS and other diseases).
The numbers are depressing. Thirty-three percent of Filipinos live on less that $1 a day. About five-point-two million children are not in school. Eleven mothers die every day due to pregnancy-related causes. HIV cases among the youth nearly tripled from 41 in 2007 to 110 in 2008. And just last year, there were 1.8 million unplanned pregnancies, about one-third of which ended up in abortion.
A series of activities last month sought demand that the nation’s leaders deliver on the commitment to a better life for all. Through Stand United and Take Action Against Poverty, Filipinos scored the Guinness record anew for having the most number of participants taking part in a single event. In 2006, there were 2.1 million participants; in 2007, 7.2 million. In 2008, there were 35.2 million, roughly about the same number as this year. What’s the point of standing up? Maybe it’s because its the opposite of sitting down—what we are trying to tell our leaders is that we are not taking these dire situations sitting down.
Filipinos have always hankered for inclusion in the book of records, even for the most trivial and inconsequential of reasons. This is one exception. The question is, will the message get through, even after all the participants have taken their seats at the end of the day?
Saret admits that the activity has been criticized for this. Is it just an all-out campaign for a single day of activity, before and after which both people go back to their silent tolerance of their leaders’ lack of action? “This is why the agency is now making the MDGs an election issue,” she says. “We have just launched the I Vote for the MDGs campaign.”
There was a forum last Oct. 20 among presidential aspirants who shared their thoughts and answered questions on the development issues raised by the MDGs. The event was organized by the United Nations Development Program and the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines. Alas, only five presidential wannabes bothered showing up. Those who were absent may have reasons, of course, but it would have been good if they can get past the waving and the smiling and the unchallenged remarks and actually share the details of how they intend to make the lives of Filipinos better.
That’s really something we’d like to hear.
***
There will be another forum this month; this time, the focus will be on the environment.
Ondoy, Pepeng, Ramil and very recently, Santi reminded us that disasters set back development efforts big and small. Resources that should otherwise go into creating new opportunities go instead to rehabilitation of people, communities and infrastructure. Hence the already daunting task of improving the lives of millions is made more difficult. “If there is such a thing as ‘disaster-proofing’ the MDGs, we’d like to do that,” Saret says.
The event will coincide with final preparations for the start of the Copenhagen talks where world leaders would negotiate the successor treaty to the Kyoto protocol, which will expire in 2012. The Kyoto pact embodies countries’ commitment to capping their carbon emissions. But it has been deemed inadequate, especially since the United States, the second-largest emitter of carbon, has not ratified it yet.
Then again, one does not have to think on a global scale when talking about the environment. There are pressing issues here where we can actually do something not above our heads. We can discuss forest cover, garbage disposal, slum dwelling and access to potable water. These are the small but tangible ways people can be mobilized for the environment. These issues have become more urgent. Saret believes that because of first-hand experience, people will be more interested and more likely to exert pressure on their leaders to act.
***
The Millennium Campaign, Saret explains, is an agency of the United Nations but is quite unlike the other units that work with government. Instead, the campaign identifies more with civil society which demands that government leaders make good on their commitments to achieve the goals. The targets should be included in the planning of policies and programs, and the effects on people should be sustainable instead of instantaneous and short-term. The campaign is also working on bringing the MDGs to the local level. This way, programs will be easier to jump-start and the results easier to observe, document, and replicate.
But won’t the MDGs fall prey to the designs of politicians? Saret acknowledges that it cannot be avoided. In the end, all that matters is that a family is able to have decent meals,a child goes to school, a mother is able to deliver her baby safely. Let politicians promise a better life for their constituents. But let us badger them into making good on these promises.
Saret says her group has tried to think of other ways to communicate the essence of MDGs to the common man. “Mga Dapat Gawin (Things To Do)” is a pretty accurate shot. Coming right down to it, that’s really what the goals are—simply a list of things to do so more people will enjoy a better quality of life. Easy enough to comprehend? Then again, many things are, as they say, easier said than done.
adellechua@gmail.com
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