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.
