Perhaps because the offensive haze, (smoke from the forest fires in Indonesia) which has reached Davao and Cebu, has not reached the noses, lungs, trachea, esophagus of the denizens of Malacañang, the government has done nothing decisive about it except issue a couple of press releases informing those affected to use face masks, and announcements that it has alerted government hospitals. The smoke is so thick that some children in Davao are coughing from it, while many more experience breathing problems and irritated eyes and nose, according to news reports. The haze has been described by those affected in Davao and Cebu as follows: It is as if your neighbors are burning giant mounds of dried leaves ten meters from your window with the smoke billowing in your direction 24 hours non-stop daily.
Tell the Malacañang spokesperson to try wearing a face mask to cope with that.
Indonesia is once more in violation of the ASEAN Haze Agreement or the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, to which Indonesia is a signatory. While this agreement is toothless in the sense that there is no proviso for sanctions for violations, the agreement created a Secretariat that can convene representatives of the signatories to find a way to enforce the provisions, which may include relief, reparations, and yes, sanctions as may be resolved by the contracting parties, against Indonesia.
At the very least, the government should deploy a team to the affected areas as soon as possible for the purpose of collating data in order that a report (if not a complaint) could be filed right away with the ASEAN secretariat on the haze agreement.
If the smokers in Malacañang do not care about the air they breathe, surely they have family members who are children, elderly of frail health, pregnant women sensitive to pollutants, and friends who have allergic rhinitis, asthma, and other respiratory conditions.
If you do not care about the children, worry about the long-term effects of inhaling smaze on everyone.
The MILF and PNP-SOCO jointly can help establish the identity of the shooters, especially those who killed the hors de combat (wounded combatants).
Here is the procedure, it will lead to a more efficient investigation of who committed those war crimes: The PNP-SOCO acting thru PNP Chief Espina, thru the peace committee, should give MILF representative Mohagher Iqbal the relevant data in the ballistic report with a formal request to the MILF to trace the guns used, using the relevant data in the ballistic report; and to establish the identity of the shooters. With a timetable….
(oh for crying out loud, too much blah-blah without any useful results — give him a list based on the ballistic report and ask him to trace the guns…… Since you have not agreed on a joint investigation, don’t give the entire ballistic report but a “list” and include in the list what you are looking for)
