Environmental improvement

From the regional offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Iloilo comes the report that they have been given the task of assuring that no less than half a million tree seedlings will be available for the massive tree planting on 3,409 kilometers of roads along the country's three major highways which will include the total lengths of the Pan-Philippine Highway (Laoag City to Davao City), Manila North Road (Laoag to Manila) and the West Nautical Highway (Batangas City-Zamboanga-Sibugay). This forested area will be known as "Green Chain".

That is what we always thought the country needed – a massive tree-planting project and it will become a reality before the end of this month or August 25th to be exact. What we would like to see next is for a school project that would require every student to plant at least one tree a year. The advantage of this project is that it will involve the annual planting of millions of trees everywhere right down to the barangay level. It will be better than teaching the children to appreciate Joyce Kilmer's poem Trees. True, only God can create a tree. But we can all plant them.

In direct contrast to the "Green Chain" announcement is that Metro Manila may be exposed to an eruption and it will not be from any volcano but from methane that has been trapped under a former dumpsite. This is right in Smokey Mountain, a community composed of 30,000 families. Not only are they exposed to the dangers of an explosion but to the dangers of contracting cancer and other deadly diseases due to poor sanitary conditions. Smokey Mountain is supposed to be a slum area but there are 21 medium-sized resident buildings in the area. It was during the construction of these housing units that methane started to be trapped below ground. So residents of Smokey Mountain are living atop a ticking time bomb.

DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes is right. His department cannot just sit and allow people to be exposed to such a danger. Smokey Mountain was a garbage dump. It got its name from the heavy clouds of methane that rose above the rubbish. Then in 1990, President Corazon Aquino ordered its closure and started a housing community for its squatter families that lived by scavenging. As we can see, their situation has not improved. The administration now must do something to, first, protect its residents from methane; second, improve the general conditions of Smokey Mountain. It is the main symbol of impoverished communities in Manila. I would be happy to see the day when it becomes the symbol of transformation in Manila, meaning the end of slums. Admittedly, it is not an easy task. Manila Mayor Lito Atienza has dome wonders transforming Manila. One reason for this is his background as once an architectural student. Can he start a program to transform Smokey Mountain from a symbol of an impoverished community to a model of a self-help community? By self-help, we mean that the people in the community will lead in its transformation but the whole city and country will contribute to their self-rehabilitation. Kapamilya!