Nothing accomplished for esteros and Pasig River after 1 month – Why am I not surprised?

What is taking these people so long to act on it? I’ve already written something about this supposed joining of forces more than 5 weeks ago, yet they’re still at this almost-begun stage? WTH? Puro drama, ang kupad naman gumalaw! Enough with the building up of anticipation and DO IT!

This was lifted from gmanews.tv:

Metro mayors sign landmark covenant to protect waterways

09/17/2010 | 08:57 AM

To avoid massive flooding similar to the situation when typhoon “Ondoy” (international name: Ketsana) hit the country last year, Metro Manila mayors signed a landmark covenant to protect waterways (esteros).

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the mayors will formally sign the covenant with at a ceremony on Friday, just days before the September 26 anniversary of Ondoy.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said the mayors’ “Estero Declaration” is part of the campaign to control environmental pollution and prevent flooding in the metropolis.

Under the “Estero Declaration,” the mayors will implement their respective anti-littering ordinances and clean and dredge the esteros, creeks, and other waterways located within their jurisdiction.

“This is a big event in a way that we have finally gotten the full support of the mayors in coming up with measures to combat floods. Flooding is a very serious problem that should be acted upon by all concerned sectors, not just the MMDA,” Tolentino said on the MMDA website.

The mayors will also support the MMDA’s campaign to dismantle all structures, obstructions, and other encroachments along waterways, as specified in the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.

The mayors will also help relocate informal settlers, with the help of national government agencies, “in a humane manner cognizant of every person’s right to a decent dwelling place and standard of living.”

MMDA statistics, based on the submitted list by the 17 local government units of Metro Manila, showed that the number of informal settlers in 2009 ballooned to 544,609 families.

The mayors and the MMDA will also implement medium- and long-term plans to mitigate and eradicate the life-threatening effects of environmental degradation.

“We acknowledge our collective responsibility to advance and strengthen the mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development – economic development, social development and environmental development – at the local and regional levels,” the mayors’ declaration stated. –VVP, GMANews.TV

After more than a month they still haven’t accomplished anything.

Follow through, move faster, and do your job!

Blasted snails.

Are we ready for another Ondoy one year later?

It’s almost a year since we were hit by Ketsana, better known locally as Ondoy.  I remember the quantity of water that rained on us was just ridiculous, and I couldn’t help but wonder at some point why we were getting too much rain while there are parts of the world that are dry as a bone. If life has a sense of humor well this one wasn’t funny at all, and I gotta say, we’re fortunate we made it through that, and many of us got through it with the help of so many volunteers who stepped up at that time of need. They know who they are and they know who among them really took the role of heroes, saving those who couldn’t save themselves.

I made a guest post on Pasig River Avenger, which is aligned with what I started this blog of mine for. I’ve no idea if that post is getting much traffic, but my point was actually simple enough for any reader to get: If we’re going to experience another like Ondoy, let’s not be caught flatfooted again this time around. Various observers, Pinoy or not, are already saying that the world notices us not because we accomplish so much as a people (trust me, we don’t), but because we never seem to learn from the past, from recent or distant  history, even from terrible things that have happened so close to home. I’d hate to think we’re better at making excuses for repeating our mistakes than learning from them, and nobody but us could prove that wrong. So far, we haven’t proven it wrong.

Let’s start with something simple. The ones we called heroes a year ago who undertook rescue and relief efforts put their energy into dealing with the problem at hand. This year I invite everyone to become heroes themselves by contributing to the PREVENTION of the same catastrophe. The government can’t do it all for us; we can expect the government to conduct rescue operations again when needed, but you’re the only one who could decide NOT to litter.

If you’re a Filipino who doesn’t need somebody else cleaning up after you, you’re already ahead of your countrymen who haven’t learned how to keep tidy.

Let’s all dispose of our garbage responsibly. By the time there’s another Ondoy, if enough Pinoys are no longer salaula, then maybe the flooding wouldn’t be so bad.

The AIDA model of persuasion for Pasig River crusaders

How we usually get from awareness to action could be simplified as a process of the AIDA model.

A – Attention

I – Interest

D – Desire

A – Action

Something communicated to you has to grab your attention, capture your interest, elevate mere interest to desire, and finally make your desire so strong that you act on it. That’s the goal of persuasion,

“Government gives priority to Pasig River rehab” needs follow-through for results

I found a news report on the Philippine Star entitled Government gives priority to Pasig River rehab. At first when I saw the title I thought perhaps something good might actually come out of President Aquino’s “surprise” inspection of esteros, something directly beneficial to the Pasig River, because suddenly there’s media attention on it again.

So I read the short report and found that