Time to speak out

THE more I listen to politicians who are proponents of federalism, the more I oppose the idea. Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and his lieutenants in the House of Representatives and members of the administration party PDP-Laban have also come up with proposals on charter changes that seeks to undo much of the progressive provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

If they have their way, we could end up with a federal setup that is not only messy but also primitive. ingly proposed. He thought that the fire is still inside me – that distinctive desire to make a difference to world-affairs. “Well, there is a beauty in, as they say, finding the international in the local…” I replied confidently. People want to work in the heavens and imagine that what they do actually and greatly impact the beings on Earth. But, perhaps the lowly beinterested with the introductory post I uploaded on Facebook about composting. I can understand his reaction. He lacked exposure to nature that I had, that is why. He wanted me to write a manual on the subject.

As I said earlier, there are whole libraries of material written about composting. Some of it is technical and practical, some mythical and arcane, but the whole matter boils down to this. “Let it rot,” then put it back into the soil that awaits it as nourishment so it can continue to perform its role of nourishing a living planet.

This has prompted former senator and PDPLaban founder Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. to come out in the open and chide the “non- sense” that these politicians are proposing.

The “nonsense” Pimentel mentioned are actually proposals that are meant to prop up the personal and selfish interests of the proponents.

But many of these politicians are with the Duterte ings really need more workers on the ground – the passionate local nurse to take care of our sick, the excellent teacher to mold our children’s minds, competent leaders to lead our community towards progress, creative people to open our eyes to see interesting perspectives in life, great professionals to help our community, even the whole country. “It is also a great thing to work at home you know…” I supposed. “Yeah…Perhaps”, he finally seemed convinced. That is as plain and sensible as light.

Following through with that suggestion gives us a beneficial outlook on “food wastes” as a renewable resource and the basis of a valuable asset rather than as garbage. It can be converted into a nutrient-rich compost that has many environmental and economic benefits down the chain.

Over the years, the City Council of Baguio has been undertaking consultations with the public to resolve the city’s waste problem. The wastes have since multiplied several times over and there is yet no coherent and doable policy formulated to reduce and make urban waste profitable.

This article is a contribution to the quest of camp and could get what they want, unless wellmeaning citizens start making their voices heard.

One development that could ease our worries is the recent formation of a 25-member constitutional commission that would advice Congress as a Constituent Assembly (Con Ass) in drafting a new federal charter.

The group will be headed by former Supreme Court chief justice Reynato Puno, who is pro-federalism but is honest and sensible. Pimentel is in the group as well as members of the academe. SSCebu

-o0oCoffee will over flow on February 27-28, 2018 at the Municipal Gym, in celebration of the La Trinidad’s Coffee Fest. You can enjoy our Coffee Arabica more by bringing your own favorite coffee cup which you can unlimitedly refill. The Coffee Fest will also feature a Farmer’s Forum, with Coffee Clinic, a coffee products showcase, a Coffee Council reorganizational meeting, demonstrations, and Cupping activity for the different Coffee Farmers organization of La Trinidad. the City of Baguio in finding solutions to resolve its waste problem.

Black gold is stinky, but it is good. That is an idea that got through my mind composting our kitchen wastes. Say that is old news, even a rustic tradition. However you want to view or call it, you cannot just ignore composting your wastes now and continue wasting taxpayers money and public resources on solid wastes.

Keep your waste folks. How about turning it into an individual and group enterprise and asset?

Some of you may just try composting organic waste now and have an interesting and profitable idea out of it as gold.