Let's clear the air
Let's clear the air
HIDDEN AGENDA By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes (The Philippine Star)
New Year’s eve is still almost a month away but the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Health (DOH) are already reminding everyone this early to be cautious about our foolish way of merry making. After all, Filipinos have this tendency to take things to the extreme (like some people firing their guns in the air just to add spice to the revelry).
Weeks before this odd merriment, an array of firecrackers will be put on display in some areas of the metropolis, enticing Filipinos to literally burn their hard-earned money on some unsafe consumer pyrotechnics.
Rebentador, super lolo, super pla-pla, triangulo, bawang, sinturon ni hudas, jumbo fountain, whistle bomb, baby rocket (kuwitis), lucis, watusi, just to name a few, are now being manufactured by some unknown firecracker maker to be sold in a street corner.
Then, Metro Manila would be enveloped by a thick haze. So dense is the smoke that international airlines complain about it. A number of friends working at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport claim that these complaints usually come on New Year’s Eve.
It will be recalled that sometime in July of last year, 37 international and domestic flights were diverted to other airports after an unusually thick haze covered the NAIA runway. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) stationed at the NAIA said the cause of it was air pollution.
Just recently, even Health Secretary Enrique Ona told the World Health Organization (WHO) that poor air quality has been a major cause of hospitalizations and deaths from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in the country.
Specifically, he said that particulate matter pollution emanating from the transport sector, from industries and factories are the major sources of poor outdoor air quality.
His statement is supported by the results of the recently released Philippine Environment Monitor of the World Bank which found that particulate emissions in Manila are unhealthy and caused largely by motor vehicles (84 percent), solid waste burning (10 percent), and industries (5.5 percent).
What is interesting, and what is not being discussed, is that at the same study revealed that while smoking contributes to indoor air pollution, the use of traditional, more polluting household fuels has been identified as the major potential cause of indoor air pollution.
It noted that in fact, the more than 46 million people using fuel wood for cooking may have elevated risks from air pollution, especially those with poorly ventilated kitchens. The study even added that: the high dependence on solid fuel for cooking in rural areas is estimated to contribute over 70 percent of these deaths arising from respiratory illness.
It is no wonder that, at first, Ona chastised Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino for going after smokers in the metropolis – even advising Tolentino to run after smoke-belchers since they are allegedly the primary cause of air pollution.
It is only after anti-tobacco groups maligned Ona for “defending” smoking that he made a turn-around and said that smoking is also a major cause of air pollution. Ona is now even pushing for higher taxes on cigarettes.
The funny thing is people are ignoring the primary cause of air pollution. Why don’t government officials focus their efforts on penalizing the primary causes of air pollution? Why not impose higher taxes on the transport sector and heavy industries that vastly pollute the air?