Guimaras gunk, national sludge

WE'VE ALL seen it in the news and in the papers. The gunk, mucus-like, only thicker, almost gelatinized, and jet-black.

..........................................100 km to 220 km of tainted coastline.

We’ve seen the barefoot men in shorts, gloves being their only protection as they scoop bucket-loads of the stuff from the shore, out of the water. Man against the vastness of a diseased nature. No match.

............................................. 26,000 people affected in Guimaras.

We’ve all seen it, perhaps more than we’ve seen the real problem itself. Politicians “surveying.” Many making promises. Many more pointing fingers.

......................................10,000 fisher folk bereft of daily income
........................totaling between P3 million and P5 million.

We’ve seen—not enough, though—families displaced, children getting sick. Poisoned lives. They wait, for what choice do they have? Someone needs to be blamed. In the mean time, little relief for mom, dad, and children.

................................136 families (400 residents) evacuated
......from the villages of La Paz and Cabalagnan
................in Nueva Valencia town, Guimaras (as of August 29).

We’re seeing it right now. Ill-preparedness. Unequipped to handle calamities. Well, we can’t even manage routine problems, all the more monstrosities. Environment is not even in the vocabulary, pushed aside in classrooms ever since. The problem runs deep.

.......................1,100 HA spoiled marine reserve;
........................................454 HA mangroves smothered with oil.

We’ll continue to see this. NGOs, foreign aid. We can’t cut it on our own. No wonder so many want to leave. That’s hard for someone like me to say.