Time to relearn our time-honored values

Hong Kong: Today is our last day in this former Crown Colony. We’ve learned a lot from our experience by joining the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s (HKTDC) International ICT (Information, Communication Technology) Expo at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. In order to be globally competitive, we must reach out to would-be investors as the businessmen in other countries, like China are given full and unbridled support to ensure that they grab whatever businesses are available out there. That’s the reason for our being in Hong Kong to join the expo.

We had a little time to search the Internet for news back home. That’s when we learned about the tragic shooting of Mrs. Trinidad Etong, wife of ABS-CBN Anchor Ted Failon. Now whether this was foul play is something that police authorities have to find out. But from the way I read the news, I’m not sure that we’re getting the truth here. Scratches on Ted Failon’s face and a bruised nose, tampering with evidence like cleaning the bloodstained bathroom and vehicle tells me something is very fishy here.

Meanwhile, we also learned that Gov. Gwen F. Garcia was furious over the bikini show that was held in a resort in Sta. Fe. I was at the Sta. Fe Beach Resort but we were quite far from the resort that held the Bikini open. I’m glad she bawled out the resort owner and the Sta. Fe municipal government; it’s about time that we kept the Holy Week holy and not use it for activities that degrade women.

Having a Bikini Open during Holy Week is the kind of decadence that proves that many of our young people no longer embrace the time-honored values that our parents used to impart to us; it’s called decency and respect; respect for our Christian tradition and respect for women. It has to take our woman governor to teach those people what decency and respect is all about. 

Incidentally, when I was in Bantayan Island I purposely went to my good friend, Atty. Tony Oposa’s beach house in Sta. Fe for a first hand look at his recently established “School of the Seas” where he teaches young children how to save our corals and the breeding ground for fish, which unfortunately was destroyed by Typhoon “Frank” last year. But he has laid down the foundation on how to conserve water, by constructing his shower room on the second floor and saving the wastewater for flushing the toilets.

He also uses a small and modern windmill that generates one kilowatt of power and saving the excess power through batteries. He also uses solar panels to get energy from the sun, which he also saves through batteries. Just imagine if these items become household items in the future, then the majority of Filipino homes would be free from the overburdened electric grid and best of all, be free from those pesky brownouts! While these items are still expensive if you want them today, at least Tony Oposa has shown us that these devices really work.

This is why I was very happy to read a news item in The Philippine Star that Tony Oposa will receive the International Environmental Law Award from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) at a luncheon ceremony in Washington DC on April 21. CIEL is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 and works to use international law and institutions to protect the environment, promote human health and ensure a just and sustainable society.

CIEL is recognizing the efforts of Tony Oposa as “one of Asia’s leading voices in the global arena of environmental law. His work is internationally known for establishing at the highest Philippine Court of Law the principle of Inter-generational responsibility—the right to sue governments on behalf of future generations to stop environmental damage.”

Indeed, Atty. Oposa’s activism on preserving the Visayan Sea by telling us that it is the richest Biodiversity in the World has made us proud of his work and has touched many of us. Of course, many Local Government Units (LGU) that refuse to implement our environmental laws are not happy with the fact that Atty. Oposa sued them so that they would be forced to implement those laws that help preserve our environment, not just for the present generation, but for future generations as well. 

One of those friends of ours who responded to his call was the late Jojo dela Victoria who was gunned down and killed by people who have been affected by Tony Oposa’s fight against over-fishing and dynamite fishing. In response to his getting the award, Atty. Oposa said, “This award belongs to us all—The Filipino—it is my dream that one day, our collective efforts and passions will ‘infect’ the rest of our people and that one day, we—all Filipinos, with our native genius for Nature and the natural sciences and arts—will be the beacons of light for the rest of the world.” Kudos to you Atty. Tony Oposa!