Some Ms. Philippines Earth 2018 candidates are favoring the closure of beach resorts and establishments in Boracay island as they emphasized that the environment must come first before tourism.
Sister Pat
“It is part of my religious mission to stand with the poor” – Sr. Patricia Fox.
Mga pahayag mula kay Sr. Pat, mother superior ng Our Lady of Sion Congregation sa Pilipinas. Kamakailan lamang ay naging laman siya ng mga balita sa loob at labas ng bansa dahil sa iligal na pagdakip at pagkulong ng Bureau of Immigration sa kanya.
Si Sr. Pat ay 27 taon nang nagsasagawa ng kanyang missionary work sa hanay ng mga magsasaka at katutubo sa Gitnang Luzon. Pinaparatangan siya ngayong ‘undesirable alien’ ng gubyernong Duterte dahil umano sa kanyang pagsali sa mga ‘political activity’. Ngayon ay nahaharap siya sa posibleng deportasyon. Naglabas na ng kautusan ang Bureau of Immigration na kailangan ng umalis ng bansa ni Sr. Pat sa loob ng 30 araw.
Nakadaupang palad ko si Sr. Pat taong 2014. Ito ang panahong nagkaroon ako ng interes na tumungo sa Hacienda Luisita sa Tarlac upang alamin ang tunay na kalagayan ng mga magsasaka roon. Sa araw ng sabado at linggo kung saan walang trabaho ay nakakadalaw ako sa Hacienda. Minsan sa aking pagbisita ay nataon na nagaganap ang isang Peasant Women International Fact Finding Mission na pinangunahan ng AMIHAN National Federation of Peasant Women at Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura o UMA upang imbestigahan ang direktang pagkamkam sa lupa ng mga Cojuanco-Aquino sa pamamagitan ng tambiolo (raffle draw) lot allocation scheme sa ilalim ng nakaraang gobyerno Aquino.
Ang IFFM ay dinaluhan ng mahigit 20 katao, 8 rito ay observers mula sa iba’t ibang international organizations mula sa mga bansang Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia at Taiwan. Dito ko unang nakita si Sr. Fox. Kapansin-pansin kay Sr. Pat ang pagkamababang loob nito, hindi naiinip sa mga diskusyon na ‘tila palaging kalma at marunong naring magsalita ng tagalog.
Mapalad akong makadaupang palad ang mga taong katulad ni Sr. Pat. Isa sa mga unang taong nagpatunay sa akin, na may mga nilikha sa mundo na handang ialay ang kanilang oras, lakas at talino para iangat ang interes ng mga magsasaka at katutubo, ang uring madalas inaapi sa klase ng sistema o lipunan na mayroon tayo ngayon. Ang kanyang pagsama kung nasaan man ang mga magsasaka at katutubo ay patunay lamang na tinutupad nito ang kanyang sinumpaang tungkulin sa kanyang pananampalataya na kalingain ang mga mahihirap.
Para sa iilan madali lamang manghusga sa kung ano ang pagkatao ni Sr. Pat, madali lamang ipagkibit-balikat ang inhustisyang kanyang naranasan sa bayan na kanya mismong minahal lalo na’t kung sa telebisyon at Facebook lamang ang batayan ng kuro-kuro at opinyon. Pero para sa mga taong nakasalamuha ni Sr. Pat at sa mga magsasaka na kanyang walang imbot na pinagsilbihan, hindi matatawaran ang kanyang ipinamalas na pagmamahal para sa mga mamamayang hindi naman niya kadugo o kalahi.
Mabuhay ka Sr. Pat at ang libong taong katulad mo nanagsisilbi sa interes ng mga mahihirap.
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Gabriela condemns govt’s removal of comfort woman statue
Women’s group Gabriela strongly condemned the removal of the comfort woman statue along Roxas Boulevard in Manila Friday, saying the move is a desecration of Filipino women’s dignity. Blaming Japan and the Rodrigo Duterte government for the statue’s removal, the group said the move casts a foul insult on hundreds of victims of sex slavery […]
Veteran disaster responder Carlos Padolina dies in road accident
Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD) official and veteran disaster responder Carlos Padolina died in a road accident Friday night in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental. Padolina, DSWD Climate Adaptation and Mitigation deputy program director, died after a motorcycle hit the tricycle he was riding at about midnight, a colleague told Kodao. In a Facebook post, […]
Being a lawyer at a turbulent crossroads
‘Redeem what has been lost, repair what has been cracked, and reform what needs to be changed. Lawyer for the people.’ The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) heartily congratulates all those who passed the 2017 bar examinations. In the same vein, we also send our sincerest felicitations to those who did not find their […]
Environmentalists oppose reclamation, Boracay closure
Sporting beachwear, goggles, lifebuoys, and beachballs, environmentalists led by Earth Island Institute, Save Freedom Island Movement, and Nilad held a coastal cleanup today at Freedom Island in the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism area (LPPCHEA).
The groups said that the cleanup today marked the culninating activity of the month-long Philippine celebration of Earth Month 2018. Previous activities were press conferences held during the EcoWalk at Arroceros Forest Park, and EcoTalk forum at University of the Philippines.
According to them, the coastal cleanup event is a form of protest against the government’s inaction in preserving our wetlands, the National Reclamation Plan, and the recent 6-month closure of Boracay Island. Green groups said that various projects being ventured by the Duterte government posed serious threats on the environment and on various wetlands in the country, including Freedom Island and Boracay Island.
On the issue of reclamation and Boracay, the groups insisted, “in order to protect the environment, especially the seashores and wetlands, a holistic and people-centered rehabilitation program is the best option and not private-public partnership projects that will only further and broaden the destruction in the name of profit.”
Just like LPPCHEA, Boracay faces almost the same threat,” said Trixie Concepcion, Earth Island Institute Regional Coordinator.
She added, “at the expense of the residents’ livelihood, the island will be given to foreign companies only to be exploited and destroyed.”
The groups are firm with their stand that “grassroots environmental protection is the key in preserving the beauty and biodiversity of Boracay and other wetlands”. They urged the Duterte government to take action and heed the call to ban reclamation which they deemed as a “massacre of people’s livelihood and of the environment.”
“We are calling the attention of President Duterte to stop all reclamation projects immediately to prevent further economic and environmental disaster.”
Aside from the total ban of reclamation, they also hope for the full rehabilitation of Manila Bay.
“What we envision in the near future is a clean Manila Bay where Filipinos can spend time with their families and friends without the risk of getting diseases or damaging the habitat of the remaining wetland wildlife in Metro Manila,” Concepcion ended.
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Labor feds unite, vow to hold biggest rally in decades
Labor federations vowed to hold their biggest Labor Day protest on Tuesday after agreeing to jointly march against President Duterte’s failed promise to end contractualization. In a press conference in Manila Friday, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Nagkaisa Labor Coalition said as many as 60,000 workers in Metro Manila and 150,000 all over the country […]