Fear?

Traffic-free Ortigas

A day after a bomb exploded on a bus along EDSA in Buendia, taking the life of five of its passengers, I took a bus ride to Manila. I wasn't hesitant to take the bus because I felt that a bomb explosion taking place a day after a bomb incident was not very likely. It created fear, however. At the bus terminal, I particularly chose to sit in front near the door, thinking  that it was the safest place to be in. My place gave me a better view of the passengers coming in. Staring at people's faces is a rude thing that I do, but this time, doing it was more for vigilance than anything. I looked at their bags, too. I knew I was not being paranoid. Or was I? Fear, as I mentioned, got the better of me. I observed the bus conductor if he was checking not only the tickets but the baggage as well. In brief, I was particularly worried for dear life.

Law-abiding pedestrians

The incident in EDSA was purely evil, a work of terror, and they successfully instilled fear. It might take a few days until this cautious attitude would wear off. No person deserved to live in fear, and no person deserved to die due to a devil's work. I'd like my next bus or jeepney ride to fear-free. Good that I had a good friend sitting and chatting beside me as we traveled the whole stretch of Alabang-Zapote Road to the equally-busy Taft Avenue in Manila.

At Robinson's Manila, the sight of many foreigners, white men mostly, with local ladies was a comforting picture to an already bad image the country had been getting (I am not hinting that sex trade might be our saving grace in luring international tourism, though.).

What transpired at Rob-Manila was the usual Filipino malling experience that included watching a movie, eating some fastfood and doing a lot of window shopping.

I made it safely back home after an hour of FX travel. That was my Happy Teachers' Day Celebration.

Metro air quality worsening :Poor, commuters affected

I am reposting excerpts of a September 21, 2010 Inquirer.net article on pollution. The complete article is in this link.

• The quality of the air that residents of Metro Manila breathe has worsened, prompting the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to launch a crackdown on smoke-belchers along one of the busiest thoroughfares in the metropolis.
• Former Environment Secretary Elisea Gozon, now a director of the Earth Day Network, said the dire air quality in the city was adversely affecting the poor and commuters.
• A 2007 World Bank report said air pollution was a major cause of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in the Philippines, costing the country P7.6 billion annually, she said.
• The World Bank report is bolstered by a study by the University of the Philippines’ College of Medicine, which showed that more than 50 percent of the medicines sold in the country are for respiratory ailments.
• Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said motor vehicles were the main source of pollution in the metropolis, accounting for as much as 80 percent of the pollution. The rest comes from industrial sources.
• Paje said the increase in total suspended particles (TSP) could be attributed to the worsening traffic in Metro Manila. The longer a vehicle is stranded on jam-packed streets, the more pollutants it emits, he said.
• The main pollutants are “jeepneys, buses, and tricycles,” as many of these vehicles are old models and have inefficient emission systems, he said.
• There are 5 million tricycles in the country of which 2.8 million are in Metro Manila, according to the DENR. Motorcycles contribute about 20 million cubic meters of pollution load every year, the agency said.
• People who live 500 meters from major roads like EDSA are significantly at risk of asthma, lung diseases, heart attacks, strokes and cancer, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) read.
• The agency will also introduce electric tricycles in the Philippines to encourage operators and drivers to switch to the cleaner vehicle.

My notes:

I thought that I was actually helping fight pollution by commuting. Now I am troubled. This can have a major impact on the lives of commuters and PUV operators. I shall wait and see what lies ahead.

Pollution

Proceed with caution. Dirty graphic content in this post.

Back home in Mindanao when we were younger, we would illustrate the seriousness of the pollution problem in Manila by saying this, "You would know you're in Manila when you pick your nose and then you'd see that your fingertip is all black," and then we would check our respective noses to examine the quality of air in Zamboanga. Zamboanga's air quality is still at an acceptable level, my fingertip would say.

Living in Manila, I had to live with pollution every day. There is little protection against pollution when you're out in an open vehicle that is plying the treeless avenues of Manila. I dread taking EDSA, one of Metro Manila's main thoroughfares. I don't need a 'pick-my-nose' meter to gauge the gravity of the air pollution problem of Manila; sometimes, my oily face does that. (You may stop reading if you find this post repulsive; there is more to say) To add further harm, I usually catch colds after. If you would tell me to avoid EDSA, I would answer "I can't. I couldn't!" All the great malls are along it. hehe. Here in the south of Manila, I can say that it is not as bad, but I wouldn't know until when. Typhoons and other not-so-friendly weather disturbances keep on uprooting the remaining trees in the area, and EDSA is extending all the way to the south with the skyway extensions being built around.

So what do I do?

Call me stubborn, but I wouldn't be caught wearing a (surgical) mask or anything similar outside even if my life were to depend on it. Take a closed vehicle? Oh, sure I would any time of the day, but my bank account would not permit me. Much to my dismay, I could not think of a solution to this pollution problem facing my tribe. My health is important to me. For now, I'd like to think those tablets called vitamin C are doing their job.

As for my "pick-my-nose" meter, I have long established its reliability after staying here in Manila for many years. In fact, I have retired this process and put my fingers to other worthy causes. Now, my laundrywoman gets the same air quality readings as I do. The black dots on my white handkerchief give away everything. She tells me "Kadiri na ano?" She says it all.

Manila's pollution problems shouldn't just be the concern of a particular group of people. It's everybody's. Even the likes of my laundrywoman are also affected; they attribute their longer washing hours to their trying to take out the dirt on countless collars and sleeves and handkerchiefs!


There really shouldn't be any disgusting posts like this one.