Chiz Escudero

I am suggesting a bipartisan approach to prepare the country for the disaster that seems inevitable in the wake of the global warming phenomenon.

The administration and the opposition should consider a moratorium on logging and the passage of more stringent measures to protect the sea and inland waters

I may be wrong, but perhaps it is time to consider removing forest exploitation from the commerce of man. There is something disturbing about the idea of a single individual or corporation deriving profits from what is by right owned collectively by all citizens of the country.

I admit the proposal is a drastic departure from the common practice, but man is facing an erratic weather pattern that could very well spell his extinction. Extraordinary problems call for extraordinary solutions.

The government must keep the seas around in pristine condition as the linchpin of its environment protection program. Appropriate measures must be considered as existing laws dealing with the problem are much too lenient or seldom enforced.

Of all crimes against the environment, the rape of the sea is the most insidious. From the air, you can readily see the trees being felled in the forest. Nobody realizes the destruction taking place at the bottom of the sea until it is too late.

Of equal importance is the need for the government to conduct an educational campaign in coastal communities, as the inhabitants must be told that the steady decline of their fish catch over the years can be traced to the degradation of the coral reefs.

We do not have the vast expanse of grasslands to support cattle ranching, unlike the United States, Brazil and Argentina, and Australia. We are entirely dependent on marine products for our protein requirements. It is tragic indeed if we fail to conserve the resource that has sustained our people since they first settled these islands.

As regards mining and other extractive industries, the government should make sure that pertinent laws are implemented.

I will hold DENR (Department of Environment & Natural Resources) responsible for the degradation of the environment in areas threatened by the presence of mining companies.

I had earlier denounced DENR for allowing Lafayette Philippines to resume operation on Rapu Rapu Island in Albay at the time the firm twice allowed cyanide laced wastewater to overflow its reservoir resulting in the poisoning of rivers and waterways downstream.

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