2020, a wet, pandemic year

By Leonardo Micua

 

WE were lucky to be spared by Typhoon Pepito that lashed out in some areas in Regions II and III and IV-A (Quezon). But it’s too early to rejoice. According to PAGASA, there will be from five to eight typhoons more that will visit the country before the year ends.

Factored to this is La Niña, which is projected to bring rains in most parts of the country till November or even till December. There is fear that rains will spoil our usual Christmas celebrations. The year 2020 is not only a pandemic year but also a wet year.

The prolonged wet season might be a disadvantage to us as the coronavirus is expected to gain more traction when it is unusually cold, when it is slippery and wet.

Corollary to this, there is an item in the October 20, 2020 issue of The Manila Times titled “Foul odor 24/7 from open dump” that could make any one vomit.

The item in the broadsheet refers to the dumpsite in Bonuan that the city government under the present city administration did not do away with despite a closure order issued by the DENR regional office about a year ago.

Just to be fair, we will let the DENR find out if the site really fouled up as reported.

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Relative to the dumpsite issue, we lost track of the complaint filed before the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) against Mayor Lim and the Dagupan City government for its failure to act on the Waste to Energy project proposed for Dagupan by the Singapore-based Sure Global W2W PTE Ltd represented by Julia Courts Boughton.

We last heard that the machine that can convert wastes into energy was already assembled in South Korea and was about ready to be shipped to the Philippines before the pandemic stalked China, Asia and the whole world.

In that case, somebody will surely be made to pay certain damages if the contract entered into by the past city administration on behalf of the city and with the imprimatur of the Sangguniang Panlungsod is not honored.

Endorsed in a series of resolutions and legislative actions of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the past city administration, the project was intended to finally put an end to the dumpsite since it will collect wastes to be processed into fuel energy.

The Lim administration does not want the project to push through even if the same is being given at no cost at all to his city.

Let’s wait and see if Sure Global is taking any legal step in order to recover the expenses it had incurred so far.

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