Playing with Fire
Earth-moving concern
By Gonzalo Duque
YESTERDAY, an ice drop vendor at the Tondaligan Park told my driver that he was given a whooping Pl,000 and a basket of relief goods.
Wildly pleased, the boy started running around telling the whole world about the biyaya that he received from the politicians.
Filled with tears, he cried to God that there would be more of that bonanza from heaven.
Beat that! What’s happening to our country, General?
I asked my driver to locate the boy because he would be a witness to this naked rape of democracy in our midst.
Sadly, the boy disappeared in the crowd of people trooping to the beach and he got lost in the cover of darkness. It was then evening.
Now, you see the sad turn of events this election has brought to our lives.
If the situation does not improve, paktay lo ang bayan.
* * *
Guess whom I had the singular privilege to break bread with and discussed a lot of earth-moving subjects lately.
No, he is not a candidate for an elective office. Not yet probably.
Probably in the near future.
But the things we shared some vital concerns in connection with saving, protecting and preserving lives, the life of each one of you and me, and the very life of Planet Earth topped our conversation.
Environment and Natural Resources Sec. Angelo Reyes, a presidential timber no doubt, is not in the campaign field vis-a-vis the May l4 elections. He is more in the field that matters most Saving Mother Earth.
I know that while you are reading this, you are vexed, exasperated and made sick and sickly by the blazing heat of the sun. Our malls, air conditioned buildings are teeming with people. Our seas and forestlands are now the favorite refuge of our people.
Angie and I had agreed to jointly lead the way to carpet the 7,l00 islands with trees, trees, and more trees.
Yes, all educational entities – of which I will take the initiative in assisting in mobilizing the various private educational organizations – to deploy all students and all school entities in tree planting.
Our own Speaker Joe de Venecia Jr. had sounded the alarm in this regard with his l billion trees program. Now, we all see his point in passionately pursuing what the opposition habitually dismisses as one of those gargantuan ideas of JDV.
Did it ever occur to you how we would all be without trees? Our rivers would dry up. If that happens, what? Everyone dies. There are those among us who in their over-reliance on man’s incurable optimism will say, ah, naahhh, the future generation will take care of itself. That’s a reckless, irresponsible attitude. What is horrible is that assuming that by the time the trees were extinct and that we would have been somewhere six feet below the ground, there still are our children and grand children to take care of. At least, we are more worried about their case.
Now, now, our worried selves touched off by the progressively being depleted trees took an immediate more ugly twist when the subject became to the tragic condition of the city’s vanishing beach property that has allegedly gone to private persons.
It’s at this juncture that DENR Sec. Angie showed raw anger. This was not the first time we discussed the matter. And he was seething with fury, righteous anger because a prize property of the government – the 72-hectare Tondaligan being a National Park – has been robbed by our own people, many even led by our own guardians of the law, city officials (oh, we know their fronts!) in a grand collusion and in wanton conspiracy to deprive and deprave the national patrimony.
Medyo matindi ya. Angie Reyes assures that whatever happens in the May l4 elections, heads will definitely roll to stop the Bonuan Beach carnage once and for all.
It’s our patriotic duty, he said.
He vowed decisive action. Watch for it. Rather, watch out!
(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/playing-with-fire/)
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