Guimaras Cries For Environmental Justice

PHOTO 1 This is Guimaras Island before the oil spill incident.

PHOTO 2 Considered to be a paradise, the Alubihod Beach in the northern part of Nueva Valencia in Guimaras started to lose its beauty.

PHOTO 3 In a pitiful condition, houses along the island's coastal area are smeared with bunker oil.

PHOTO 4 Because of this environmental disaster, it's not only the people who are greatly affected but also marine organisms.

PHOTO 5 With the government's effort to address the problem, villagers are hired for the clean up.

PHOTO 6 Greenpeace volunteers also recognize the need to assist local fishermen in collecting oil from beaches.

When Print Journalist Talks About Blogging

“Not in my time that I will see the death of the newspaper,” an old traditional media practitioner said.

In a simple forum regarding blogging, Professor Rolando Fernandez, Northern Luzon Bureau chief of the Philippine Daily Inquirer said blogging is not a threat to print media but rather serves as its partner in the world of journalism. He added the decreasing readership of the people is the possible threat to print media.

Furthermore, blogging and print journalism complement each other. Some journalists admitted they get tips, reactions and comments from blogs which for them are of great importance. It’s because they are able to see different perspectives of people on issues and events. With this, blogs serve as vehicle to deepen their reports.

And it’s not only the print media that recognize blogging’s relevance but also broadcast media. According to Fernandez, TV reporters use blogs to write about things behind the scenes because TV programs have time limitations. They fail to accomodate additional information. In addition, these reporters are able to post the information censored in television through blogging.

On the other hand, Fernandez emphasized on the future of community newspapers intertwined with the role of blogging. Realizing that funds are limited, he said the community newspapers can use the blogs as their new venue. With this, they can provide news on a daily basis without having to worry about the large expenses. However, if they fail to reinvent themselves, the community newspapers will be perceived as nonexistent.

For these reasons, Fernandez stressed that blogging has a bright future in the journalism world. However, he admitted he doesn’t own any blog not because he finds it as a threat to his profession as a print journalist but because he just lacks time.

Enviromment News in the Spotlight

At last, environmental articles have conquered the front page of every paper- the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philipppine Star and Manila Standard Today. For almost two weeks, environmental stories do not beg for limited space. They have really gained prominence for they are now in the headlines.

But, the question is till when will they enjoy being in the spotlight? Will we wait again for another disaster like the oil spill in Guimaras just to give these stories the prominence they really deserve?

What's with environment news that makes it unnoticeable?

Most of the time, environmental stories are buried in the middle section of the paper and occupy a little space. For this reason, readers have failed to give these stories attention. And we cannot just blame them for doing such.

To address this problem, news organizations' top decision-makers must be part of the picture. They certainly have the final say about the presentation of news stories. In this case, why not always have environmental stories on the front page? It would do no harm, right? Furthermore, the way a story is presented can greatly affect the perception of a reader towards that story. For that matter, a front-page environmental article is perceived as far more important than the other articles found next to that page.

One more thing, news involving politics and economy outnumber this kind of stories thus making them more unnoticeable or even nonexistent.

With this, to instill environmental awareness is quite hard. However, we can start considering this point- why not also bombard the readers with environment news? This will help them have a deeper sense of awareness which will eventually push them into action. It's just like the people bombarded with news on politics, they were also the people who moved to oust Pres. Joseph Estrada.

Lastly, what makes environment news worthy of prominence is not really the presence of disaster that kills people and damages properties but rather the IMPACT IT HAS ON OUR GREAT GRANDCHILDREN.

Alam Mo Ba?

Inilatag ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ang detalyadong plano niya sa pagpapaangat sa ekonomiya ng ating bansa sa kanyang ika-anim na State of the Nation Address o SONA.

Ayon kay Pangulong Arroyo, may mga kaukulang proyektong nakalatag para sa tinatawag niyang "Super Regions" na kinabibilangan ng North at Metro Luzon, Central Philippines, Mindanao at Cybercorridor. At sisikapin niyang maisakatuparan ang mga ito sa loob ng apat na taon.

Iginiit din niyang mas mapapaunlad ang ating bansa kung pagbibigyan ang pangagailangan sa pagbabago ng konstitusyon na nagsusulong para sa federalismo.

Dagdag pa ng pangulo na may nakalaang pondo para baguhin ang sistemang pulitikal at labanan ang kahirapan, terorismo at korupsyon.

Ngunit sa kanyang SONA, hindi din niya naiwasang banggitin ang mga pagbabatikos at pagpapatalsik sa kanya.

At sa kabila nito, nasabi rin ng pangulo na makakamit lamang ang kaunlaran kapag nagkakaisa ang sambayanan.

Ito ang inilatag ng pangulo sa kanyang talumpating nagbunga ng napakaraming reaksyon mula sa iba't ibang panig ng Pilipinas. Ang inilatag sa SONA ay ipinahayag ng media at nalaman ng buong bansa.

Mababanaag dito ang di matawarang halaga ng media sa pagiging tulay sa komunikasyon sa pagitan ng pamahalaan at mamamayan. Ang mga nabanggit na planong pang-ekonomiya ay para sa ating bansa na mararapat lamang na malaman at suriin nang mabuti ng bawat Pilipino.Dahil ito ang huhubog sa bawat pagpapasiyang gagawin natin sa ngalan ng kaunlaran at kabutihan ng ating bayan.

Sa pagkakataong ito, maituturing din nating ang media bilang tagalatag ng pundasyon sa pagbabago ng Pilipinas.

What's With the Flag?

It's the embedded sense of nationalism.

Bandila is the newest late evening news program of ABSCBN with its eminent anchors namely Korina Sanchez, Ces Orena Drilon and Henry Omaga-Diaz.

The title of the program reflects a nationalistic touch in presenting the news. It gives emphasis on proximity as element of news which particularly involves psychological matters. In this case, it supports ABSCBN's idea of KAPAMILYA. The flag as part of the program's visual effects makes the viewers feel that they belong to the Filipino community thus encouraging them to be more sensitive to the present situation of our country.

Bandila also provides an in-depth presentation of news stories thus pointing out the need to show the sides of the people involved in a certain issue as well as the existence of background information to better understand the whole story. It has also a touch of investigative journalism that makes the information more reliable and credible. Their stories are news worthy. In this case, showbiz news are not of great importance because what matters is not about entertaining the people but rather providing them the information they really NEED. On the other hand, even though their stories may seem so serious and heavy, they have been neutralized by featuring unusual human experiences on the latter part of the program.

The significance of credibility is also highly recognized. Its anchors have already established their names in the field of broadcasting or even considered institutions in the broadcasting industry. The credibility of a news also depends on the credibility of the reporter or broadcaster.

At a certain angle, watching Bandila is a different kind of experience. From dull background to colorful borders, it has indeed maximized the television's visual element thus emphasizing the use of colors like red, blue and yellow as shown in the rays of the sun surrounding the video. Its visual and sound effects make it more pleasing and interesting to watch.

Considering all the things stated above, does a touch of nationalism, news worthy stories, credibility as well as visual evolution make Bandila an effective news program? Let Bandila unfold itself.

Minor Problem

Should we consider the problem involving minors a minor one?

The involvement of young individuals in a crime is not a strange scenario in our society. And it is repeatedly reported but it is seldom addressed in the most effective manner.

Recently, six teenagers are arrested by the Baguio City Police. On an early Thursday morning (July 6), the said six teenagers alledgedly blocked the way of a 16-year-old guy and stole his Nokia 2300 cellphone at the Burnham Park. The teenagers were described as out-of-school youth who were between 14 to 18 years old. Now, they are under the custody of BCPO Women and Children Concerns Section. This report was written by Ernie Olson Jr. of Sun Star Baguio.

This incident may not seem very alarming but it also needs attention which it really deserves. There are reports that minors are imprisoned together with the adults who commit grave offences. And this shouldn't be the case. Minors should not be put behind bars. What they really need is an effective rehabilitation program with the help of their families. This kind of program is indeed an initial and yet progressive step for their social growth and development amid their traumatic experiences. However, these programs will be useless if they are not properly implemented by people with a sense of responsibility. On the other hand, they don't need to commit heinous crimes just to catch one's attention or even trigger one's sensitivity.

Tolerating their acts while they are young may lead to a more complicated problem as they get older. It only reflects that the implications of their actions in the future are often ignored.

Water, please...

"It's okay to take a bath every other day." This kind of statement seems a valid excuse because of the city's climate. But, what if it's not all about climate? It's just that one cannot take a bath everyday because of insufficient water supply.

Baranggay Marcoville in Baguio City is just right beside Baguio Water District (BAWADI). But, this doesn't imply that Marcoville receives a good and sufficient supply of water.

The residents of the said baranggay often complain about the schedule of BAWADI's water service. A mother of three said that the water would come late in the evening or even early morning of Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. She also added that she kept herself awake just to wait for the water to flow right through their faucets. To have a clearer picture, she explained that they started filling their containers with water at around one in the morning and forced to stop after four hours. And the reason behind it was that at around five in the morning, there was no water available. Another resident said that there's also an instance where it was almost four days without water and with empty containers. Indeed, this kind of schedule makes their health suffer. This seems so stressful on the part of the people who will wake up early to go to school or work.

BAWADI also responded to their complaints. It's a change in the schedule. Instead of one in the morning, the water would come late in the afternoon. But, this didn't take long. It's only for two weeks. Then, the water supply resumed late in the evening. With this, they got tired of bringing their complaints to BAWADI so some of them just forced themselves to get used to it.

These complaints are often neglected. They have no chance to be totally resolved or acted upon. They are often treated as little concerns for they just happen in a small baranggay like Marcoville. However, it's not about how big or small their complaints are, it's about THEM BEING AFFECTED TOO MUCH. An office like BAWADI should really be of service to the people while the residents of this area should relentlessly fight for their right as consumers. Tolerating this kind of service doesn't make any change!