One of the Eight Basic Consumer Rights is the Right to a Healthy Environment. R.A. 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines explains this as “the right to live and work in an environment which is neither threatening nor dangerous, and which permits a life with dignity and well-being.” It means the consumers (and citizens) can look forward to the government exerting an iron hand to prevent further degradation of the environment especially the forests, rivers, seas, and soil erosion of croplands. A government that will harness its resources, and partner with the various sectors of the community to uphold and preserve the environment in order to sustain development.

In Naga City, this specific consumer right is being addressed with flair and innovation. On April 16 to 22, 2005 Earth Day Festival will be celebrated for the first time in Naga City. The week-long festivities will drum up public support, and aim to enhance the partnership between the citizens and the government in solving the city’s environmental problems. This includes special community projects for the environment, and information and education drives for the citizenry. All these would culminate in a Green Summit on April 21-22, 2005 that would involve leaders and representatives from various sectors to discuss what would be the “Positive People’s Practical Proposals” (4 Ps) to protect and care for the environment of the city and its communities.

There are five major environmental themes for the Sustainable Development Green Summit which will be held on April 21-22, 2005 at the Regent Hotel, Naga City. These are the following:

1. Search for the Green Heart and Soul of the Nagueño: a Culture and Values-based Environmental Education Strategy for Naga;
2. Grassroots Solid waste Management: Maximizing the Role of Households and Barangay in Solid Waste Management;
3. The Challenges of Sustainable Development and Conservation: Mt. Isarog on Watershed and Center of Bio-diversity;
4. Tracing the Flow: the Naga River’s History and Future;
5. Naturally Healthy: Go Organics

Earth Day was first observed internationally on April 22, 1970, to emphasize the necessity for the conservation of the world’s natural resources. Starting as a student-led campus movement in the USA, Earth Day has become a major educational and media event. According to Microsoft Encarta, 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation, “Environmentalists now use it as an occasion to sum up current environmental problems of the planet: the pollution of the air, water, and soils; the destruction of habitats; the decimation of hundreds of thousands of plant and animal species; and the depletion of non-renewable resources.” The emphasis is on solutions that will slow and possibly reverse the negative effects of human activities. This years marks the 35th anniversary of the event with the theme, “Protecting Our Children and Our Future” (Earth Day Network, www.earthday.net)

Police Inspector Romeo J. Perez Jr. of the Naga City PNP is one of the staunch environment advocates in the police force. In fact, he and PASU Armando Omolida of DENR-Camarines Sur are the committee chairmen of the “Ikot-Padangat Isarog” to be held on April 16, 2005. As part of the Earth Day Festival celebration, this Recreational Bicycle Tour will pass through, and will have whistle stops in the municipalities of Tinambac, Calabanga, Naga, Pili, Ocampo, Tigaon, and Goa. The main purpose of this activity is to build awareness on the value of Mt. Isarog National Park as a watershed, and center of bio-diversity.

Incidentally, Inspector Perez told this column that the Naga City Police is waging a relentless campaign against smoking in public utility vehicles. Citing City Ordinance 95-070, a jeepney driver will be penalized with a fine of 300 pesos, or double the fine for a passenger caught smoking inside his jeepney. (It was assumed that the driver tolerated or did not stop his passenger from smoking in his jeepney, and thus violated said city ordinance.) He also said their campaign was bolstered by R.A. 9211 which provided stiffer penalties for smoking in public places and conveyances. You can report violators of the City ordinance through hotline 166 or telephone number 473-3537.

TO THE SMOKERS: Give us a break. We and our children deserve clean air and a smokeless environment!

QUOTES:
“Men do not die, they kill themselves.”
-Seneca, a Roman philosopher

“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate; otherwise, we harden.”
- Goethe