Vendors say new site for San Mateo’s public market ‘environmentally hazardous’

photos and text by IVY A. GARCIA
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program


SAN MATEO, RIZAL—VENDORS operating in a public market at Brgy. Gitnang Bayan II here said the relocation of this municipality’s decades-old public market to an area near the Marikina River poses many environmental hazards.
The San Mateo Public Market will be refurbished for the building of a planned Pamantasan ng Bayan ng San Mateo and the marketplace will be transferred to Kambal Road that’s not near to both the San Mateo Dumpsite (a waste transfer station) and to a slaughterhouse, but also near the San Mateo River.
Speaking on behalf of the market’s vendors, Atty. Gioan Legazpi said market vendors plan to file a water pollution control and abatement case against the San Mateo local government before the Pollution Adjudication Board of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA).
The opposition stems largely from the environmental hazards and alleged violations of some existing laws that the relocated public market’s new location will pose.
Legaspi said it is okay to relocate the public market to a place that is not a hazard-prone area like the planned one in Kambal Road.
Legaspi approximates that the new site for the public market is less than 10 meters from the river bank.
Legaspi cites Presidential Decree 1067, or the Water Code of the Philippines, where article 51 provides that “the banks of rivers and streams, and the shores of the seas and lakes throughout their entire length and within a zone… of 20 meters in agricultural areas and 40 meters in forest areas… to the easement of public use (for) recreation, navigation, floatage, fishing and salvage.”
“No person shall be allowed to stay in this zone longer than what is necessary for recreation, navigation, floatage, fishing, or salvage or to build structures of any kind,” article 51 of PD 1067 provides.
Legaspi also said local officials of San Mateo failed to secure an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from DENR for the new site of the public market. As well, the planned site of the public market also lacked an environmental impact statement system, this being required by Presidential Decree 1586.
Since the new site is also near the Laguna Lake, Legaspi said constructing the market in the planned site has no “discharge permit” from LLDA.
According to Republic Act 4850 that created the LLDA, a discharge permit is the authorization LLDA gives to any industry or establishment that discharges any liquid wastes or regulated effluents to the Laguna Lake.
The proposed site of the new public market is, Legaspi claims, even near the San Mateo Waste Transfer Station. Thus, Legaspi says the site violates section 15 of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, or RA 9003, which provides that no establishment shall be set up within 200 meters from open or controlled dumps, or from sanitary landfills.

School for a market
The existing site of San Mateo’s public market was once a patch of land since the early 1950s, and vendors covered their stalls with umbrellas or cloth. In 1992, during the time of former San Mateo Mayor Amo Santos, this patch of land was cemented and a two-storey building was constructed.
“Maria,” who has been a vendor at the market for 44 years, said the facility “is still a public market”.
But the construction of the second storey was left unfinished and unused until the administration of then Mayor Jose “Peping” Diaz finished construction and made the second floor a local college.
This school, called the Pamantasan ng San Mateo, is sometimes called “U.P.” for “upper palengke [market]”.
Maria said the planned location for the public market is rarely visited because the area’s foul smell comes from the San Mateo landfill, and “it floods there easily” since the San Mateo River is just a “few meters” behind.
But current San Mateo Mayor Jose Rafael “Paeng” Diaz, son of the older Diaz, said protestors are people “who hate discomfort and who don’t want to be relocated” since they have been used to being in the old place.
As for the waste transfer station in Kambal Road, Diaz said it will be moved to a sanitary landfill in Brgy. Pintong Bukauwe, which has been operating since 1990.
Diaz added the site of the new San Mateo public market will have a site development plan, a larger parking area, and a “more organized” drainage system.
As well, Diaz said the new market will also have a sewage treatment plan to cover the waste water coming from the planned market’s wet section.
This is unlike the current market, Diaz claims, where the waste water system goes straight to San Mateo’s drainage system.
“So it will be cleaner [in the wet section of new public market’s site]. Nobody will fall even when the area’s slippery; no rats and cockroaches will roam around. There will also be a more orderly electrical system compared to the existing market’s electrical system that looks like a spaghetti,” Diaz said.
The Pamantasan ng Bayan ng San Mateo has been a plan of former Mayor Jose “Peping” Diaz.
In the current Pamantasan that has 600 enrollees, tuition fees per semester cost only P4,000. Before, the tuition is only P2,000 per semester.
Mayor Diaz also said that current place of the old market is an ideal site for the Pamantasan ng Bayan ng San Mateo, because it is at the center of the town,
The relocation of the market in Gitnang Bayan II may also ease traffic on the main road, the younger Diaz said. (912 words)

Ondoy’s aftermath becomes business opportunity for Pasig City subdivision

photos and text by ANNE JUDITH B. JAMNAGUE
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program


PASIG CITY—HIGH waves, unaided folks, and instant haunted houses: Where’s tomorrow?
Those were the images that left the seven-hectare subdivision Pasig Greenpark in Imelda Ave., Manggahan (near the Pasig City-Cainta, Rizal boundary) muddled given the wrath of typhoon Ondoy a year ago. Not surprisingly, many residents fled the subdivision and its many tragic reminders.
This is where business opportunities sprang, and new business models tested in the area.
Apartments mushroomed to entice new tenants, such as 10 newly-built apartment units that await 50 new villagers in Greenpark.
And amid last year’s floods, Pasig Greenpark remains a good location to build apartments, says Engr. Darryl Alagon.
“People working near here (Pasig Greenpark) want easier means to reach home instantly, without thinking of the construction process”, Alagon said, referring to office workers found in Eastwood (Libis, Quezon City), or even call centers near Tiendesitas (found along C5).
Newly-opened small businesses such as a spa, some food outlets, construction suppliers, and retail stores then greeted new and old residents. All these enterprises have found the trend of rebuilding after Ondoy a sound business model.
Amid the horrors brought by Ondoy, 33-year subdivision resident Sherly Lucas-Reyes opened Sweetwater Spa in Queensland St. earlier this year.
To her surprise, Reyes said the spa had many followers. “It was at first risky, baka kasi maulit yung baha (there might be a repeat of flooding here).”
Vivian Barroquina was unmindful on the disastrous event that made her small food stall submerged in floods last year. But the owner of Vivian Store in Soliven St. reconstructed her store and business continues to be brisk —like prior to Ondoy.
Even a market was created as new homes are built and rebuilt here.
Melmaray Hardware and Construction Supplies, found in Hawaii St., then came into the picture.
Owned by Medardo Catura, Melmaray capitalized on residents’ efforts to elevate their homes. “There’s a greater demand for building, rebuilding, and elevating existing homes here,” said Catura.
Solid Homes, Inc. developed Pasig Greenpark during the early 1970s, and the subdivision was recognized as a peaceful executive community.
Pasig Greenpark measures approximately seven hectares with 48 streets and more than a thousand home owners. The subdivision is near Eastwood Plaza and Transcom in Tiendesitas where many call center agents work and find the place near their offices.
Ondoy changed all that in just a matter of hours: A YouTube video that resident Jeffrey Copiaco did while floating a Styrofoam-made ice cooler box captured the murky brown waters that made Pasig Greenpark “devastated” by Ondoy.
Online, some residents are calling for buyers of their Greenpark houses and lots, such as 209 sq.m property (worth PhP3.5 million) advertised in www.sulit.com.ph, and a 90 sq.m property, also worth some PhP 3.5 million (advertised in www.binebenta.com).
Such is why the influx of new residents and the opening and re-opening of old small businesses surprised Victorio Mejia, president of Greenpark Homeowners’ Association.
“The village became more commercialized and open to the public: that’s the new trend here in Greenpark,” said Mejia. “Nothing like before.” (505 words)

Infra repairs in Cainta not enough to ensure avoiding a repeat of Ondoy

by PAMELA T. CABRERA
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program


CAINTA, Rizal—FLOODING still prevails in this municipality that made headlines last year after typhoon Ondoy placed many areas, especially the posh subdivisions, under water.
Weeks before the local government unit will convene a flood summit, clogged esteros and waterways are still prevalent, residents say, and these have not yet eased the municipality’s flooding problems.
For example, damages from the rip-cracked fences that guard Brookside Village and Don Mariano Subdivision from Mapandan creek led to the overflow of the creek when rain hit the area last August 5.
But the Cainta local government unit, led by Mayor Mon Ilagan and Waste Management Office head Atty. Keith Nieto, is clearing off those trash-laden creeks, aside from unclogging drainage systems with the use of vactor machines that run 12 hours a day.
Nieto said the Cainta LGU is also working with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to restore wrecked creeks and drainage systems that withstood various typhoons, including Ondoy.
Cainta is currently relocating to Antipolo City a total of 400 families settling along the municipality’s esteros and water way systems, so as to avoid them being swept by running water. Some 130 families have been relocated already.
The LGU also recently launched an “Ilog Ko, Buhay Ko” project that aims to save a polluted Cainta river, the main water basin of the municipality’s esteros and water ways.
Nieto said the town is trying to clean eight months worth of garbage that last year’s typhoon left behind.
Ondoy killed 15 people and affected more than a thousand families here, says official municipal records. Currently, some 130 families were permanently relocated to Antipolo City
Ilagan also announced that Cainta will organize a flood summit this October to not only review the municipality’s 10-year solid waste management plan, but to determine environment-related courses of action so as to avoid a repeat of Ondoy.
Cainta has been spending PhP27 million in these anti-flooding public infrastructure projects, but estimates by some local officials show that PhP100 million is needed to rebuild Cainta. (336 words)

Infra repairs in Cainta not enough to ensure avoiding a repeat of Ondoy Cainta’s flood summit in Oct. to review town’s sold waste plan

by PAMELA T. CABRERA
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program


CAINTA, Rizal—FLOODING still prevails in this municipality that made headlines last year after typhoon Ondoy placed many areas, especially the posh subdivisions, under water.
Weeks before the local government unit will convene a flood summit, clogged esteros and waterways are still prevalent, residents say, and these have not yet eased the municipality’s flooding problems.
For example, damages from the rip-cracked fences that guard Brookside Village and Don Mariano Subdivision from Mapandan creek led to the overflow of the creek when rain hit the area last August 5.
But the Cainta local government unit, led by Mayor Mon Ilagan and Waste Management Office head Atty. Keith Nieto, is clearing off those trash-laden creeks, aside from unclogging drainage systems with the use of vactor machines that run 12 hours a day.
Nieto said the Cainta LGU is also working with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to restore wrecked creeks and drainage systems that withstood various typhoons, including Ondoy.
Cainta is currently relocating to Antipolo City a total of 400 families settling along the municipality’s esteros and water way systems, so as to avoid them being swept by running water. Some 130 families have been relocated already.
The LGU also recently launched an “Ilog Ko, Buhay Ko” project that aims to save a polluted Cainta river, the main water basin of the municipality’s esteros and water ways.
Nieto said the town is trying to clean eight months worth of garbage that last year’s typhoon left behind.
Ondoy killed 15 people and affected more than a thousand families here, says official municipal records. Currently, some 130 families were permanently relocated to Antipolo City
Ilagan also announced that Cainta will organize a flood summit this October to not only review the municipality’s 10-year solid waste management plan, but to determine environment-related courses of action so as to avoid a repeat of Ondoy.
Cainta has been spending PhP27 million in these anti-flooding public infrastructure projects, but estimates by some local officials show that PhP100 million is needed to rebuild Cainta. (336 words)

Wait till Nov. to ride PNR trains plying south of Luzon—PNR official

by KRISTINE ELIZABETH B. DIHIANSAN
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program


MANILA—ANY day from now, second-hand passenger coaches from East Japan Railways will arrive here to hopefully re-open the Philippine National Railway’s (PNR) route from Manila to southern portions of Luzon.
But passengers will have to wait until early November to enjoy the rides from Manila to Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions, said PNR operations manager Estelito Nierva.
PNR’s 536 km.-long Southrail operation will be from Manila to Legazpi City.
An August news report quoted Nierva was saying that the Southrail operations of PNR will commence after the celebration of the Peñafrancia Festival (in Naga City, Camarines Sur), annually held on the third Saturday of September.
Nierva said while rail tracks plying the Manila-Legazpi City route are “already passable,” these tracks are still being strengthened with concrete sleepers, or railroad ties that are made out steel-reinforced concrete.
Another reason for the delay of the Southrail project, Nierva said, is the appointing of a new PNR general manager under the Aquino administration, in Manuel Andal.
The US$932.037 million Southrail project, launched in 2009, involved two phases: rehabilitating an existing railway line from Calamba City, Laguna to Legazpi City, Albay, and the construction of a new railway extension line from Camalig, Albay to Matnog, Sorsogon.
Once the rail tracks covering these southern cities and municipalities are identified, PNR said it will allow train speeds of up to 120 kms. per-hour (kph).
If completed, the first year of operations will commence two years after the start of the project, and the route is along the Manila-Lucena City corridor. Services will then reach Legazpi City after another two years, and will extend to Sorsogon after another two years.
PNR projects that some 34,220 people will ride daily the Manila-Legazpi City corridor, though currently about 1,000 passengers ride the Manila-Legazpi City route.
The costs of the project were courtesy of Philippine government loans from Korea and China.
The Northrail-Southrail linkage project (from Caloocan City, Metro Manila to Calamba City, Laguna) costs P54.6 billion, while the Southrail project (from Manila to Legazpi City [phase 1], and extending to Matnog, Sorsogon [phase 2]) costs US$932.037 million (or PhP40.077 billion at US$1=PhP43).
When typhoons Milenyo and Reming hit southern Luzon in 2006, two major passing bridges of the PNR route were destroyed: the San Cristobal Bridge in Calamba City and another bridge in the municipality of Guinobatan, Albay.
Though, the requested PhP1.5 billion budget to rehabilitate the two bridges was only approved in 2008, and repair work began in December that year.
Apart from repairing the bridges, the PhP1.5 billion was also used to strengthen the rail tracks by converting molave-made sleepers into concrete ones.
But existing PNR coaches —particularly the deluxe type— already have television sets on board.
Nierva added that once the Manila-Legazpi City route re-opens, diner coaches will be restored and sleeper coaches will be made available as well.
It is this spacious legroom of a sleeper coach that Marife Bautista misses the most (her last boarding of a PNR train was in January 1988, and the train of this Libmanan, Camarines Sur native rode then only had one dining and sleeper coach apiece, four air-conditioned reclining seats, and ordinary seats patterned after those of passenger buses).
Nierva estimates that if a bus ride plying the Manila-Legazpi City route costs PhP830.80, PNR estimates that the train ride will cost PhP592.50.
Nierva said PNR management has yet to approved fare rates for the Manila-Legazpi City route. (572 words)

QC brgy. finally owns lot its brgy. hall stood for four

by KRISTINE KATE LOUISE DR. FERNADEZ
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program


QUEZON CITY—AFTER a four-year long petition, a barangay in Quezon City will finally be entitled of the lot its barangay hall occupied for forty years.
The Accounting Department of the Quezon City government has released a certification that an amount of PhP2.2 million will be available for Metrobank as the payment for the lot where the multi-purpose hall of Barangay Dioquino-Zobel is located.
And hopefully before September ends, barangay officials said Metrobank will not bug them anymore with any takeover of the lot.
Brgy. Dioquino-Zobel is within Quezon City’s Cubao district.
According to documents provided by the barangay chairman Oscar Q. Concepcion, the 439 sq. m.-lot was formerly owned by Luzviminda C. Sansao and Lualhati V. Calapini who granted the request of the building of the barangay hall during the 1970s.
However, 15 years later, the owners of the lot mortgaged the lot to Metrobank-Makati. Then Metrobank officials sheriffed the lot since owners failed to redeem the lot given their death in the United States.
The first Notice to Vacate was issued on March 8, 2006 by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 220.
But the barangay council sought the help of the former Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte and wrote to the Deputy Sheriff of RTC, Nilo R. Lapid, to defer the writ of possession while the negotiation of the city government and lot owner was ongoing.
However, last August 2, Concepcion received another Notice to Vacate-cum-court order (dated July 26, 2010), giving them a period of five days to leave and return the lot to Metrobank.
A letter was also sent to Lapid from the office of the current QC Mayor Herbert Bautista with same intent to defer the notice while negotiation on the buy-out is being processed.
According to Concepcion, negotiation to buy the lot has started since 2008. But the city government and the bank could not settle the terms of payment.
He said that the price was not an issue but the city government wanted the property to be turned over to them and, after 60 days, comes the payment.
The taxes, as pointed out by Concepcion, were also entrusted by the bank to the city and vice versa, making the situation “complicated”.
He also thinks that the arrangement for the buy-out took long because both parties (Metrobank and the city government) responded after 3-4 months.
The supposedly takeover of the lot was ceased last August 10.
Last August 12, a meeting was held between the bank and the city government regarding the buy-out, following the release of the certification of the amount the next day.
The PhP2.2 million certification from the QC government was released last August 13.
Concepcion expects that before September ends, everything is fixed and the takeover will not affect the barangay hall anymore.
However, four families will be affected by the takeover after they were identified as informal settlers. (480 words)

Sampaloc brgy installs 4 more CCTV cameras

by BIANCA KATHRICE B. BERNARDO
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program

MANILA—BY the first week of October, the periphery of the 21-hectare University of Santo Tomas will have a semblance of closed circuit television cameras found in the streets of major cities in China.
This is after officials of Barangay 471, Zone 46 have purchased four more CCTV camera units, worth a total of PhP100,000, recently to beef up efforts against criminality.
One of these four new CCTV cameras will be placed in Santander St., which barangay officials say had the highest incidence of robbery and hold up cases since 2008.
The three other streets where CCTV cameras will be set up are Navarra, Asturias and Antonio streets, said Councilman Armando Ramirez.
The barangay currently has four existing CCTV cameras, two of those are affixed in Rosarito St. and the other two are placed in Santander and Juaning streets —all of which are connected to a television inside the Brgy. Hall located in Navarra St.
In Santander St. alone, there have been 25 reported cases of theft and robbery that struck at students since last January.
Suspects to those crimes such as Salisi, Basag Kotse and Dugo-Dugo gangs were caught and are currently detained at Precinct 4 in Balik-Balik Street.
Brgy. 471, Zone 46 is where UST, University of Perpetual Help-Manila, and lots of food and computer establishments are found. (219 words)

Miraculous manghihilot in Malate

photos and text by ALYOSHA J. ROBILLOS

University of Santo Tomas Journalism program


MANILA—IN the heart of Malate nightlife lies the spot of Nanay Alice, who is the balm that soothes the aches and pains of both the ritz and the poor, 24/7.
In a place where sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll prevail at night, the Our Lady of Remedies makes her presence felt through the hands of Nanay Alice.
Alicia Espiritu Ramos is a traditional Filipino healer or ‘manghihilot.’ Somewhere along the sidewalks of Jorge Bocobo, she sits beside her Eurotel-sponsored signage that reads “Nanay Alice…Hilot.”

There, she waits and does no hard selling for the people come willingly—a result of the only promotion she gets—word of mouth.
There is often a string of vehicles that conceals this septuagenarian’s makeshift clinic. Patients wait their turn, blending into the bohemian scene regardless of stature or profession.
Ramos had not always been the resident manghihilot of Malate in the Remedios Circle area. For 27 years, she was a volunteer at the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios (Our Lady of Remedies) Parish, more commonly known as Malate Church.
She did a number of things for the institution, from selling sweepstakes tickets, candles and garlands of sampaguita to making sure that the church was spic-‘n-span. Eventually, parish priests convinced her to retire.
According to Alicia, it was not only because the priests took into consideration the aging lady’s unpaid labor, but because of her special abilities as well.


‘Senora’
IT was on Nanay Alice’s 15th year of servitude when, as she claims, that the Virgin Mary reffered her as “Señora Remedios,” supposedly bestowed a life-altering gift upon her.
During one of the many Sundays she spent at the church, she noticed a child barely seven months old, coughing profusely. When the infant suddenly vomited, she allegedly heard the voice of the Lady of Remedies.
“Hilutin mo ang bata (Massage the child),” the voice whispered. Without hesitation, she approached the family and offered to massage the child.
The parents were taken aback by the sudden display of concern from the strange woman. It took an hour before the parents came back to Alicia with the ailing child still crying. A few minutes and some oil-laden rubs later, Nanay Alicia asked the parents to go home and make their child rest.
The next Sunday, the family returned to Nanay Alicia’s spot —this time with a cake in hand. The father, who turned out to be a specialist at the Makati Medical Center, couldn’t stop thanking Nanay that day.
Upon retiring from volunteer work in 1996, Nanay Alice started treating people out in the streets through the traditional “hilot” and herbal medicine.
It became easy for her to sense things, especially those of ill nature, whether they be kept secret or made out in the open. There was, for instance a young woman who approached her for a stomach massage. Nanay Alice refused to massage her because, upon taking the young woman’s pulse, she determined that the girl was pregnant despite the flat appearance of her abdomen.
“There are many doctors who would go along with what you are planning, but I am not going to do it for you,” Nanay said in Filipino rebuffing the girl’s intent to abort her unborn child.

Soothing the pain
HILOT, a massage native to the Philippines, is used as an alternative to invasive treatments and other complicated medical procedures. It makes use of unconventional healing methods such as energy transfer, spiritual philosophy and herbal medication.
According to Dr. Bibiano Fajardo, an albularyo and practitioner of hilot of the Association of Traditional Health Aid Givers Inc. (ATHAG), hilot is the age-old indigenous Filipino healing practice associated with elderly healers who could identify body illnesses and areas of energy imbalance with one touch.
Being one of the oldest and most secret medical arts in the Philippines, hilot is usually taught by the elderly to the younger generations.
Nanay Alice, on the other hand, was taught by no one and was supposedly guided by the grace of the divine Mother.
Advocates and practitioners of traditional medicine like Alicia Ramos keep the art of alternative and unconventional healing afloat despite people’s growing preference for modern and western medical methods.
Alberto Ugdiman and Julie Guinanao, both residents of Jorge Bocobo St., hold Alicia’s uncanny “gift” in high regard. Ugdiman’s leg was red and swollen a few months back, making walking almost impossible.
It did not heal until Nanay Alice massaged it. Although doctors advised him to have it x-rayed for it might have been broken, he ignored the advice and went to see the “manghihilot” instead.
Now, his leg is as good as new: “Some of her methods are the same with our ‘manghihilot’ in Negros Occidental, (and Nanay Alice’s massaging) works, too,” Guinanao said.
Because of her miraculous touch, Nanay Alice has been able to work with prominent medical doctors. Dr. Jaime Z. Galvez Tan, Vice Chancellor for Research of the University of the Philippines, Manila (UP) and former Department of Health (DOH) secretary, has been in touch with Alicia Ramos since 2004.
Currently a professor at the UP College of Medicine, Galvez-Tan often asks his third-year medicine students to visit Ramos and ask about the phenomenon of her work. Galvez-Tan has also included Nanay Alice in his research and books on alternative medicine.
Despite the respect she has gained even from practicing doctors, Nanay Alice keeps herself grounded and never imposes a price on her patients.
Having lost her only son, her heart goes out especially to the children of those like her who are neck-deep in poverty. Nanay Alicia helps her three adopted children with whatever donations she gets from treating the sick round the clock. On a good day, she gets a total of PhP400.
Although she wishes to have a more permanent and stable spot, Alicia Ramos has used her “blessing” from Señora Remedios to help those she can with what she has.
“Masaya ako dahil nakakatulong,” she beamed, the corner of her eyes crinkling in a warm smile. (996 words)

Sports complex to cover up Taytay dumpsite begins construction in Dec.

by MAIQUI ROME FRANCIS M. STA. ANA
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program



TAYTAY, RIZAL—A PhP150 million sports complex, set to rise on top of this municipality’s dumpsite that’s near the Laguna Lake, will begin construction this December.
This is even if the complex, to set foot at a 12-ha. controlled disposal facility (CDF) in Brgy. Muzon, threatens to pollute the lake, according to some non-government organizations.
Municipal officials have said that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Rizal has already approved the construction project.
Councilor Chito Esguerra said the controlled disposal facility in Muzon “had already been rehabilitated. The area for the sports complex would be examined by engineers and should satisfy the requirements of engineering before the building is constructed.”
Other possible locations within Taytay have been considered for the sports complex, but it will cost a lot more money to acquire new land.
“I would prefer that the sports complex be constructed at the area of Ortigas in Brgy. San Isidro. But the problem is that it would cost Taytay a huge amount to buy, pay or acquire the lot which would cost another PhP150 million,” Esguerra added.
However, the dumpsite remains operational even if Memorandum-2008-432 issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources already notified the Taytay government to fix the problem,
A year after NGOs Greenpeace-Southeast Asia and EcoWaste Coalition barricaded the CDF, garbage trucks and trucks carrying soil were spotted entering the gates of the controlled dump.
Greenpeace and EcoWaste staged another barricade last August 28.
Taytay is among 931 local government units, including the city of Antipolo and the municipalities of San Mateo and Tanay, warned by DENR for operating open dumpsites and allegedly violating Section 37 of RA 9003.
According to Republic Act 9003 (or the Ecological and Solid Waste Management Act), an open dumpsite that was identified must be converted into a controlled disposal facility, which refers to a disposal site where solid waste is deposited in accordance with minimum prescribed operations of the said site.
Greenpeace-Southeast Asia Toxics Campaigner Ira Beau Baconguis wrote a letter to Taytay Mayor George Ricardo Gacula II last year saying that the CDF in Brgy. Muzon brings about hazardous health risks especially since it is near the Laguna Lake.
Greenpeace explained that mixed wastes already in the dump be left in the pit and simply covered with soil, as this would allow “the continuous leaching out of a toxic cocktail of chemicals into the water and release of dangerous gases from the dump”.
“That was the plan. We told them they have to excavate the waste. The dangers remain. The pollution will continue. Even a dumpsite should not be found anywhere near a body of water,” Baconguis said recently.
The Laguna Lake is also a major source of food and drinking water. Baconguis also added that reports from fishermen in some areas near the lake confirmed that the decrease in the number of fish catch per day is caused by the pollution of the lake.
Gacula, in his reply to the NGOs last year, pledged that the municipal government will adopt “stringent procedures” in closing the dumpsite.
The planned sports complex is part of the municipal government’s infrastructure projects that are planned to cover up the mountain of garbage.
Meanwhile, besides the sports complex, Taytay Councilor Archie Calderon bared that there are other projects proposed within the 12-hectare dumpsite, including a convention center, a high school, a municipal cemetery, and a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).
Calderon said that the MRF will serve as a recycling facility for mixed solid wastes.
“The MRF is where all the garbage will be contained in a single facility and then grinded and turned into hollow blocks that can be used for other construction projects,” Calderon said in Filipino.
This first-class municipality that is home to 262,485 residents is found east of Pasig City (in Metro Manila) and north of Laguna Lake.
The Taytay and Panghulo rivers, as well as the Napindan Channel —all of whose waterways go to the Laguna Lake, are also found in the municipality.



Maiqui Rome Francis M. Sta. Ana, a third year Journalism student of UST, submitted this story for his Newspaper Practice and Management class.

Roof sealant is new ‘addiction’ in Muntinlupa City

by ADRIAN STEWART T. CO
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program



MUNTINLUPA CITY—THE sealant “Vulca Seal” is used to plug the leaks on roofs, but it is now the new addiction of vagrants here.
While undertaking his job as a jeepney barker along at a street in Alabang, 46-year-old “Danny” snuffled a plastic with a patch of Vulca Seal. “This is our new substitute for rugby,” he said.
He admitted that almost all of what he earned, out of barkering for passenger at PhP5 per filled jeepney, were spent to this vice.
Another Vulca Seal addict revealed that authorities in the city are tending this problem with soft hands.
“They will just bring us to the precinct and ask us for their pang-yosi (cigarette money). Later on, we are already set free,” said 10-year-old “Rico”.
Rugby is a substance known for repairing shoes and fixing floor vinyl. It causes a person’s brain to dry up, making one feel uneasy and unsteady.
Rugby addiction stopped after rugby manufacturers integrated at least give percent mustard oil, an additive that has made rugby unattractive to sniffing addicts due to its dizzying smell. This led to the shift to Vulca Seal.
“Nakakahilo kasi yung amoy noong bawang kaya ayaw na naming ng rugby kahit na mas sulit yon (The garlic scent makes us feel shaky, that is why we are not buying rugby anymore even if it is cheaper),” Danny said.
A gin-size bottle of rugby costs Php65, while a sealant placed on a tetra-pack is worth PhP45.
However, Danny said that they are not getting daily rations of Vulca Seal here; instead they buy it in volumes outside of Muntinlupa City.
This is because hardware stores in the city disallow people from easily purchasing Vulca Seal and rugby.
“Our store’s management ordered us to scrutinize the consumers buying rugby and sealants. If we find them to be confusing, we immediately say that we ran out of stack,” said Christian Ramos, a sales clerk from one of the hardware stores here.
“They (addicts) are easy to distinguish, so even if they say they are not addicts, we disallow them from purchasing Vulca Seal,” said Pacheco Partosa, son of the owner of a general merchandize store here.
Some people even think that some addicts steal goods from market stalls and sell these at a lower price to buy rugby and sealant.
“They will filch anything they see that can be a source of income for them to buy their rugby and sealants,” says Arnel Cueto, a concerned citizen here.
However, he said that not all addicts are pilfering just to buy for their vices; some are like “Danny” who works hard to purchase it.
Muntinlupa City won a Galing Pook Award in 2003 for the work of the Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Office (DAPCO) that does surveillance and drug buy-bust operations.
The city even has its own drug-testing laboratory that can screen for the use of marijuana, shabu, and ecstacy, while the local government also operates a Muntinlupa Renewal Home to rehabilitate drug dependents. Muntinlupa also has Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (BADACs), as well as a text hotline.
But a staff of DAPCO who refuses to be identified said that while there is no specific ordinance against Vulca Seal and rugby use, both substances are technically covered by the city’s anti-drug laws.


Adrian Stewart Co, a third year Journalism student of UST, submitted this story for his Newspaper Practice and Management class.

Dogs, cats get enlisted in Marikina City

by MARIE ANGELINE M. PAGULAYAN
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program



MARIKINA CITY—A 69-year old woman walked her way to Tañong Barangay Hall in Marikina City not to secure a cedula or barangay clearance, but to enlist her eright-year old brown mongrel for the annual city-wide dog and cat registration.
“If the dogs are safe, people are also safe,” said Vivian Crudo, as she registered her dog, Queenie Thursday morning.
The pet registration around the 15 barangays in Marikina is part of the city’s campaign to control rabies and to promote responsible pet ownership.
Dr. Manuel Carlos, chief of the City Veterinary Services Office (CVSO) said that the registration is being done to avoid diseases coming from these animals, such as rabies.
For a pet to be registered, the owner should fill-out first an application form from CVSO or from their respective barangay halls. The owners of these pets are also required to submit a 2x2 photo together with a 3R whole body, side view photo of their cat or dog.
“Some pet owners seem to ‘laugh’ at the 3R photo requirement. But in legal matters, it’s very important,” Carlos said.
Upon registration, the pet is given a dog tag and a free anti-rabies vaccine. If the pet has been vaccinated already by a private veterinarian, the owner is required to present a proof or certificate of anti-rabies vaccination.
On the other hand, those who are for renewal should present the old registration paper or dog tag, and duly accomplished application form. Both new applicants and for renewal pay a registration fee of P75.
As stipulated in City Ordinance no. 62, enacted in 2007, failure to register the dog or cat will cost the owner as much as P2,000 while another P2,000 for non-vaccination of anti-rabies.
“(Registration) is an obligation for us pet owners,” said Joselito Fabros, 51, who registered his four-year old golden brown mongrel, Chloe, for the first time since they’ve just moved in the city recently.
Despite fortifying the campaign for a rabies-free community, Carlos admitted that they cannot guarantee that all of Marikina City’s pet owners will comply with this ordinance.
“Though we give house-to-house notice to the residents every first quarter of the year, some of them might even hide their dog from us,” he said.
Carlos added that lack of time, and even laziness from a few number of pet owners, are some of the reasons why not all cats and dogs in Marikina are not fully registered.
In 2009, a total of 7,357 pets, with only 27 cats, are registered in Marikina while the number of pets vaccinated reached 5,346 (with only eight of those being cats) Barangay Conception 1 yielded the highest number of registered cats and dogs with 1,049, with 768 of them vaccinated.
As of July 2010, CVSO recorded 5,641 registered pets (no breakdown by dogs and cats is available).
Crudo and her dog were not new in the pet registration process. In fact, it was Queenie’s eighth renewal for this year, for he has been a registered dog since 2003. “Queenie is a registered dog since 2003,” she said.
The annual pet registration in Marikina City was first implemented in August 2003 under the City Ordinance No. 67 (enacted in 2003), which was amended in 2007 as City Ordinance No. 62.
For this year, the city-wide registration runs from August to September. After the two-month period, the registration will be continued at CVSO.
The Anti-Rabies Act of 2007, or Republic Act 9482, referred to rabies as a “highly-fatal disease cause by a lyssa virus”. This virus is transmitted mainly through the bite of an infected animal, and it leads bitten human victims to suffer from muscle paralysis, hydrophobia, aerophobia, and other neurological manifestations.
Veterinary experts said that rabies in cats is twice as common as in dogs.
While there is a vaccine for rabies, there is no treatment for the disease, says Ameircan veterinarian Dr. Ron Hines in a website link, and once the disease seeps into the brain death is inevitable.



Marie Angeline Pagulayan, a third year Journalism student of UST, submitted this story for her Newspaper Practice and Management class.

Virus slays 7 dogs in just a month in QC village

by DAISY JANE T. SANDE
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program



QUEZON CITY—DOG owners here are becoming extra-conscious of their pet dogs after a deadly virus killed seven canines consecutively at Hobart Village in Novaliches.
Momoy Marzan, who already lost two three-month-old puppies from the canine parvovirus, has been applying a parvocidal disinfectant, Vikron S.
Karlene Contado, former owner of a five-year-old mixed-breed of an American bulldog and a Dashcund named Riyouchi, uses bleach since it is affordable.
Marzan’s and Contado’s dogs were among those who died one after the other last June with the canine parvovirus virus (scientific code: CPV2).
A symptom of the virus is blood that can be seen in these dogs’ feces, like those in Marzans’ two puppies.
“They (Marzan’s puppies) are living normally until one day, they had bloody feces and then died immediately,” he said.
It was said that Mang Momoy’s two puppies probably acquired the virus when a neighbor’s Labrador died with the same symptoms.
Some three houses away Mang Momoy’s home, another German shepherd puppy died, owned by Buboy Veluz.
CPV2 is a highly-contagious disease whose transmission can be direct or indirect between dogs. There is no dog-to-human transmission of this virus.
If a certain community has at least one dog infected, the spread will be quick especially when dogs excrete feces that contain blood.
The parvovirus causes dogs to vomit uncontrollably, lose their appetite, and experience severe diarrhea.
Most of the affected dogs in Hobart Village, like Minerva Balazo’s mixed breed, just stayed at home, lived and ate normally.
“Chloe,” a mix breed of Japanese Spitz and Golden Retriever, was at home when Balazo’s house helper called her to inform of the dog’s death during the week after spate of death in Hobart’s neighboring streets.
Studies show that the virus lived in an environment for about one to seven months long, and the only way to kill the virus in an infected place is by applying a parvocidal disinfectant in a correct concentration, or use bleach.
No other dog-victim from the said village was reported since June. (336 words)



Daisy Jane Sande, a third year Journalism student of UST, submitted this story for her Newspaper Practice and Management class.

Market vendors, tricycle drivers short of P1 coins in Quezon City

by ABBIJAH C. DULNUAN
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program


QUEZON CITY—THE shortage of PhP1 coins has become a daily problem to the vendors of a small community market in Barangay Pag-asa.
The problem started almost two years ago but has only taken its toll this year.
Almost everyday, the vendors lose some of their profits because of giving discounts to their customers when they fall short of change.
To shun this problem without appearing stingy to her customers, Nora Vendicacion uses what she calls “utangan system”.
When she is short of change, Vendicacion asks her customers to retrieve it the next time he or she buys something from her.
Three stalls away from Vendicacion is Rabbie Penos’s stall. He gives out vetsin (monosodium glutamate) as a substitute for a PhP1 change.
If vegetable vendors lose some of their profit because of the unavailability of the PhP1 coins, so do the tricycle drivers who ply the PhP18 route from the market to Shoemart North Edsa.
A joke among the drivers has it that all the missing PhP1 coins are the ones being used in a game show of one of the most popular television networks in the country.
The said game show requires contestants to scoop as much coins as they can from ten bowls of P1 coins and place them in a weighing scale which determines how much they can win.
Just last September 1, a local newspaper reported that the Northern Mindanao office of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has confirmed that there is a shortage of PhP10, and 25 and 10 cent coins in Cagayan de Oro City.
Prior to the May 10 national elections, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas appealed to the public to re-circulate the coins.
As of May 31, 2010, a BSP report on bank notes and coins bared there are about 15.74 billion pieces of coins (valued at PhP17.09 billion) have been issued. The ratio of coins to the population is 170 coins per Filipino, BSP said.
Although the BSP report wrote that there is no shortage of low-denomination coins. Out of the 15.74 billion pieces of coins, 89 percent of them are low-denominated coins.
The same BSP report adds that an artificial shortage of coins may occur since Filipinos keep these in piggy banks, vaults, and wallets and no re-circulating them.
The BSP’s Cash Department even reported that a recent investigation done in Cebu City showed that there is an increased demand for PhP1 coins because these are being used in “Automated Tubig Machines” and coin games.
Smugglers apparently eyed the PhP1 coin due to increased global demand for copper and nickel, the report said.
Brgy. Pag-asa’s vendors and the tricycle drivers speculate that secret transportations abroad of the PhP1 coins are the reason for the coin shortage.
Two years ago, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Customs (BoC), and Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) intercepted a huge shipment of PhP1 coins that was bound for Korea.
The intercepted shipment recovered 17.9 tons of PhP1 coins, estimated to be worth PhP3 million, which are being targeted to manufacture computer parts (particularly microchips), tokens, or bullets.
The monetary authority has also outsourced coin production to an American and a Canadian coin production companies last June to augment the production by the BSP’s mint plant in East Avenue, Quezon City.


Abbijah Dulnuan, a third year Journalism student of UST, submitted this story for her Newspaper Practice and Management class.

Six crimes a day occur in Tondo district —police data

by JONAFE Z. BERNEL
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program



MANILA—TOTAL crime cases in Tondo district reached over a thousand during the first half of the year, records from the district’s three police stations show.
Given the total recorded crimes of 1,243 from January 1 to June 30, an average of 6.86 crimes —whether against persons or properties— a day happens in Tondo district, regarded as the Philippine capital’s most unsafe district.
Crimes against persons such as murder, homicide, physical injuries and rape were more prevalent in Precinct 1 with 197 cases. This station covers Smokey Mountain, Don Bosco, Pritil, and Gagalangin.
Precinct 2, which covers Delpan, Asuncion, Dagupan/Ilaya, P. Algue and Bambang, had 160 cases of crimes against persons. It is in the community precinct of Asuncion where a leaked mobile phone video saw police torturing a robbery suspect, Darius Evangelista.
Precinct 7 recorded 81 cases of crimes against persons in its coverage areas of Tayuman and Hermosa.
Aside from the total of 438 cases of crimes against persons in all three districts, a total of 805 crimes against property, such as robbery, theft, car-napping, and cattle rustling, were recorded over the same six-month period.
Precinct 2 recorded the most cases of crimes against property with 370, followed by Precinct 1 (272) and Precinct 7 (163).
Precinct 7 Inspector Aldrin Balagat said his precinct set up checkpoints in identified areas and they seek the aid of barangay tanod forces to check on suspicious elements, especially at night time.
Balagat added also launched Oplan Sita or online spot-checks at any area within their jurisdiction.


Jonafe Bernel, a third year Journalism student of UST, submitted this story for her Newspaper Practice and Management class.

Chicharon a PhP5-to-12 million industry in Bulacan town

by GABRIELLE LARA P. BANIQUED
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program


SANTA MARIA, BULACAN—THIS first-class urban municipality (32 kms. northeast of Manila) gets at least a tenth of its income from crackled pork skins that remain a heart’s delight to Filipino food lovers.
Santa Maria has a booming agri-based industry, especially through poultry and hog-raising activities that are happening in more than 150 poultry and piggery farms.
These piggery farms are the primary sources of pigs whose skins become the pork rind cracklings that many Filipinos love.
Fortunata Lorenzo, the local government’s budget and management planning officer, says Sta. Maria is tagged as Bulacan’s pride when it comes to chicharon. However, neighboring municipalities are producing chicharon from carabao skin, while San Ildefonso also produces pork chicharon like Santa Maria.
“But nothing else can be compared to Santa Maria’s chicharon,” said Lorenzo.
With a total number of 17 stores scattered across Santa Maria, the chicharon industry contributes ten percent of the town’s annual income, which stood at PhP126.819 in 2009 (according to the Bureau of Local Government Finance).
The local government’s income includes PhP54.617 million from business taxes.
The usual chicharon is prepared by deep frying the dried pork rind with a little salt, and this viand is usually eaten with vinegar, bagoong, lechon live sauce, or atchara.
Sta. Maria’s chicharon is also finding its way into various parts of the country, as Filipinos from abroad who visit the country for a vacation stop by Sta. Maria to buy bags of chicharon as ‘pasalubong’ for their friends and relatives.
Every February, the local government holds an annual “Chicharon Festival” in line with the celebration of the feast of the municipality’s patron, the Immaculate Concepcion.
During this festival, the people present their chicharon in different stylish ways and in varied sizes. Other even put costumes and floats in their chicharon for the traditional parade.
Reynaldo Buenviaje, owner of the store “Daboy’s,” presented his cracklings —chicharon fried with spices— in packs during the festival.
According to him, in regular days, there is not a time that a balikbayan never visits his store. There are some who come from farther parts of the country. “Daboy’s” chicharon is among the suppliers of chicharon in Pampanga, the Bicol region, and in several outlets of Shoemart (SM).
For its part, “Obet’s Chicharon” (owned by Roberto Halili) has never missed in the chicharon festival. During the last festival, Halili made a huge flower figure out of the pieces of chicharon.
Some who joined in the event made a huge pig figure, pig heads, and miniature houses.
Other than designing the chicharon, the natives mix them with dishes like the Pinakbet. Even some famous Filipino restaurants, like Gerry’s Grill, was heartened to use chicharon as an additional flavor to their pork sisig (marinated pork that is seasoned with salt, pepper, and other spices).
People who do not have much budget to cook and eat such cuisines have other means of eating the chicharon. Residents here in Sta. Maria also fancy eating them simply with vinegar, bagoong, and pickled papaya, called atchara.
Richard Julian, a resident and a chicharon lover, eats his chicharon with Mang Tomas’ All Around Sarsa since it almost tastes like pan-roasted pork or litsong kawali.
Although chicharon is definitely not for the weak at heart, it serves as an alternative for saving money from buying too expensive viands.
Usually the prices of these cracklings start from PhP5, while others were sold at PhP12 to PhP50, depending on their packaging. The most expensive brand, which contains backfat, can be bought at more or less PhP100.
Recently, an innovation —the microwavable chicharon— was made so that people can eat them in longer periods of time.
“Jennie’s Chicharon”, owned by Gerardo and Jennie Torres, is prominent mostly among the “balikabayans” who save munching these cracklings even after getting out of the country.
Among their products also include chicharong bulaklak, and chicharon with backfat.
Chicharon is also Sta. Maria’s showcase product in the Department of Trade and Industry’s One Town, One Product (OTOP) program.


Gabrielle Lara Baniqued, a third year Journalism student of UST, submitted this story for her Newspaper Practice and Management class.

Floating Malabon resto afloat for more than a decade

text and photos by ROSETTE S. ADEL

University of Santo Tomas Journalism program

MALABON CITY—A FISHING pond here has become the 12-year-old beehive of a floating restaurant here in this flood-prone city.

Now, 12-year-old Balsa sa Niugan added a relaxing place for coffee lovers out there.

This floating restaurant and fishing garden in M. Aquino Street, the first in the city, just opened its coffee shop. Its capacity is 300-strong.

Bilas sa Niugan was established on July 18, 1998 under the ownership of a family-owned corporation, the Centennial Raft and Allied Services Inc..

Asked about the name ‘Balsa sa Niugan’, Manager Loreta Geronimo said that it was her husband, Santy, who had thought of it. Most of the facilities they have were made of rafts which are literally called ‘Balsa’ meaning floating raft made from bamboos that is why they used the name ‘Balsa sa Niugan’.

Mr. Geronimo was also the one who conceptualized the design of Balsa sa Niugan—to cover the dining area, extension area, The Balsa area, Kubo area, Pavilion area, fishing area, and the “Kapihan sa Balsa,” which was opened last June 20 (Father’s Day).

“Each area was gradually added as extensions for our facilities,” Mrs. Geronimo said.

The said areas may be used for events like weddings, baptismal, seminars, reunions, birthday parties and conferences as well as occasional reservations.

“Balsa sa Niugan caters to people from all walks of life, from classes A to C,” says Mrs. Geronimo.

The restaurant’s menu consists of Filipino dishes, seafoods, sizzlings, Japanese and Chinese foods, and cocktail drinks which are being served daily on their operating hours from noon till midnight. “Kapihan sa Balsa” serves brewed coffee, cakes, and pastries.

Dining afloat in a fishpond with a cool relaxing ambiance of our open-air place makes us distinct, says Mrs. Geronimo.

Having been in the industry for 12 years now, Balsa sa Niugan has established its niche in the food retail industry in Malabon.

However, like any other business in Malabon, the location itself is a drawback. Mrs. Geronimo said that because Malabon City is a flood-prone area, whenever there is flood or typhoon, they cannot operate.

Its owners refuse to disclose how much the restaurant earns annually.

As for the community, Barangay Kagawad Rizalito De Guzman said that he sees no problem with the establishment of Balsa sa Niugan.

“Since the establishment is being featured on television and newspapers, our Barangay (Brgy. Niugan) is also being promoted in the process.”

Johanne Bautista a resident of Brgy. Flores, Malabon City said that the concept of Balsa sa Niugan being a floating restaurant “is a good one”. She said that because of this people from other places visit Malabon to experience dining in Balsa, therefore it promotes local tourism benefitting the flood-prone city..

“Balsa sa Niugan a good place for sightseeing, although one thing I find negative about it is that there are lots of mosquitoes during night time because the water is stagnant,” says Marion Karenina Sagun, a resident of Brgy. Tinajeros.

But with simple rafts serving as the restaurant’s humble beginnings, the little pond where Balsa sa Niugan started has become a sea of livelihood for the Geronimo family and the city.

Rosette Adel, a third year Journalism student of UST, submitted this story for hierNewspaper Practice and Management class.