Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Jose L. Atienza, Jr. says:

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE LAW – SECRETARY LITO ATIENZA

October 26, 2009

The Climate Change Act of 2009, which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed into law, puts local government units into the center stage of governance, given the important roles city, town, and barangay leaders play in the implementation of whatever plans and programs on climate change adaptation and mitigation measures that will be crafted by a body tasked under the new law.

The substance and efficacy of Republic Act (RA) 9729 will only be as good as those executing climate change measures. The new law may even be a potent tool in bringing about a stronger green-minded electorate because of the centrality to local elected officials in mainstreaming the climate change agenda into their platforms of governance at the provincial and down to the barangay level.

See more about Sec. Atienza’s post here…

The Resource Recovery Movement (Philippines) will hold the 2010 Hazard Mapping and Environment Summit (HMES) in Manila from 8-16 April 2010. RRM-P invites participants from the Public Sector, the Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) sector and the socially concerned members of Private Commerce and Industry around the world. 

Announcement about the conference:

We encourage the Philippine Government, Asian Governments, combines like the United Nations, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, to support this milestone activity from the remainder of 2009 up to 2010.

ANNUAL ECOLOGY CRISIS CONFERENCE

The Resource Recovery Movement will hold the first 2010 Hazards Mapping and Environment Summit (Eco 2010 Summit) in Manila, Philippines.

This is ultimately borne about by the tremendous changing of the Philippine landscape and those of other countries in the Pacific Rim in the last few decades.

All efforts towards risk mapping in relation to calamities and disasters in the past should now take into consideration the great shifts and transformations in land mass, the enormous amount of rainfall brought about by Climate Change and many new factors that were heretofore not factored into national and sub-national planning by governments as well as even by business establishments and non-government organizations.

View the Conference site and Join Up to support the Conference.

Too many accidents, too many lives wasted. Property damaged. The property gone is all right, it can be recovered. But no one can bring back that other kind of loss. Look at the nation, mourning over the loss of the great Madam.

Not too long after now, a few winks after this post, we will be having an audience with Anwar Ibrahim. As they say in Islam, Inshallah! In God’s Time! Well, in that case, God’s Will Be Done! Really. One is looking forward feverishly, to say the least, to meet Anwar.

Hmmm… I wonder what will come out of a meeting with the great Malay Reformer?

You can watch out for the details on this humble site for the coming blow by blow account of the meet with one of the world’s most celebrated and greatest leaders!

Despite the world crisis, the atmosphere due to the coming presidential, national and local polls is fairly quiet. The silence is deafening.

Still and all… Thank God for small mercies!

Jallaludin (Joel) de los Santos’ friend, wrote the poem below for Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

How do days go by? Know not I…

So how do days go by? Were I to know I’ll tell you
Best that I keep the question, close to my chest,
Though it nags at my head all the time
I feel and I know, it’s getting late, it’s getting late…

Click here for the poem by Jammehd Khalil

The former President of the Republic of the Philippines, Jose Marcelo Ejercito aka Joseph Estrada or fondly called Erap, is accused by blog Shepherd Lions Gathering of having ordered the seizure of the camps of MILF.

Many of the camps according to Lion of the Maze were sacred sites to Muslims. They were not necessarily just camps; the battlements merely served as security for the sites. The sad thing about those sites, treated as camps by Estrada and his advisers, they were desecrated and most of them were not returned except recently when the 2004 resumption of the GRP MILF peace talks kicked off. Many suffered from the all-out war of Estrada. That is why the negotiations and the appeasement schemes of his predecessor, former Pres. Fidel V. Ramos all went to naught.

Now the MILF allegedly have radicals. Leaders that do not want to toe the moderate line of mainstream MILF, so-so. And they attacked North Cotabato, the home province of Gov. Sacdalan and Vice Gov. Piñol. A lot (as in thousands) of Maranaos and some Maguindanaos live in these places. A lot of Muslims likewise live in San Juan, Pasig, Mandaluyong, and nearby in Taguig, Makati, etc. A lot of these Muslims do business at Virra Mall, at San Juan Market, and in so many places nearby.

If these radicals are really intent upon war, as Lion of the Maze said, then they should not have killed civilians when they attacked North Cotabato. Also, why attack North Cotabato when it is Muslim country? Or Lanao del Norte?

Of course, there are Christians there. But as blogger Juned Sonido says, Christians and Muslims have lived and co-existed happily over the years in many parts of Mindanao. Maybe Lion of the Maze is right in saying that there is something else behind the attacks and why the MILF is not willing to surrender Bravo, Umbra Kato nor Pangalian, the stringer.

Perhaps it is correct to say that indeed there is no truth to anxieties and fears of war erupting in Mindanao. Perhaps Lion of the Maze is right: the war is a counterfeit, fake war. It is simulated. Somebody is orchestrating the events in Mindanao. Otherwise as he says, if the hostilities are really real, authentic, the first one to die should be Estrada, Piñol, Sacdalan, all the others that are preventing the Muslims from owning their own homeland. As we mentioned earlier, Estrada is easily accessible to Muslims that are all over and all around San Juan.

But they are not killing the supposed real enemy. They must be, as Lion of the Maze says, dealing instead with people whom they are supposed to target. Now that is very sinister indeed. And it has got to stop or must be stopped. In my honest opinion, it will be difficult for the government to have been the one to instigate the present hostilities. That would also have been very self-defeating. But the rivals of this administration, as Lion of the Maze says, have a lot to gain. So there may be a ring of truth to the claim that the two are working together for the government to finally fall apart.

Media reportage about the curious events in Malacañang involving generals and the President, could all be a way to convince us, poor average people that the end has come for this regime and the new transitional regime will now take over.

Aw come on.

For many Malaysians, it is a heady day. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim once more is in Parliament. Whatever past recrimination vs. the opposition leader, will now be moot. The campaign of Dr. Mahathir did not prosper. Anwar got his vindication. As girbaudz had hoped for, Malaysia will get back its democratic institutions; hopefully intact and in one whole piece. Let us pray for Datuk Seri Anwar’s and his party’s success in their peaceful revolution in Malaysia.

Dear President Arroyo:

If you are reading this open letter, you might already be embarked on your official visit to the United States. I am writing about the tragedy that befell the Sulpicio Lines MV Princess of the Stars that really got to your gut.

Sulpicio and the Philippine Coast Guard now both look bad in the eyes of the families of the missing passengers. And that is the least of your worries. Both to the public and the international audience you will be facing during your travels, you will be the primary culprit by way of command responsibility.

Therefore it is correct to be really concerned about the situation. I shall not venture to offer any unsolicited proposals but for your information, the Republic of the Philippines’ Tenth (10th) Congress had already enacted a law on the establishment of a unified transport safety agency (a combination of the proposal bills for a maritime safety board, air transport safety board, etc.)

The consolidated bills were finally legislated into Act Creating the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) series of 1997.

Why the Transport Safety Board Law was never implemented must be because of many factors, among them certainly would have been money.

I remember clearly however, that a lot of both public and private funders have already been committed as early as 1995-1996 during our earlier advocacy for Philippine safety to provide as much as US$50-Million for various concerns affecting safety!

And this was only the initial leg of their commitments. It is also further noted herein, that since the Air Transport Office (ATO) privatization bill has already passed into law, another of our advocacies of being able to collect international standard rates for users’ charges for flyovers, landings, passenger (and cargo) arrivals and departures, will now be realized.

So Dear Madam President, money is not an object. There is enough money to go around with once the NTSB is made operational. Furthermore, at the onset, it does not need to have its own staff. It can initially be staffed by people already in government’s employ.

The final decision on this and all other concerns to address the recent tragedy is yours to make.