Buses congest Pablo Ocampo Street

REACTING to an earlier column, Maria Perla Hudtohan wrote to suggest a battle cry for people who have to do a lot of walking in the metropolis: “Give back the sidewalks to pedestrians to keep them safe.”

Hudtohan, a senior citizen, said she had written several journalists hoping they would support her cause, but her pleas “have fallen on deaf ears.” She added that buses that had been rerouted to narrow Pablo Ocampo (Vito Cruz) Street in Manila have traumatized pedestrians and commuters.

Hudtohan also pointed out that all sorts of structures had risen on the street, leaving practically no space for sidewalks anymore. “Taxi terminals, eateries, pedicabs have taken over. Lately an old woman living in her kariton, who was ousted from Donada Street, had settled on a small island on Pablo Ocampo and was causing even more congestion,” Hutohan noted.

She said vehicles have likewise been using both sides of Pablo Ocampo—which are under two different barangay chairs— as parking areas.

Profit isn’t everything

Fr. Shay Cullen, founder and executive director of People’s Recovery Empowerment and Development Assistance Foundation ( Preda), wants to remind telecommunication companies that business is not just about making money.

Cullen is dismayed by recent reports that a multinational police investigation had uncovered a network of pedophiles and sex offenders victimizing Filipino children online.

“The children are victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation. And the telecommunications corporations, which are the Internet service providers ( ISP) that allow it, must be held responsible,” Cullen said.

“These companies are making vast profits from child porn peddlers and must be held morally and legally responsible for allowing and enabling these live child sex acts to be viewed live over the Internet. The abuse is only possible through connections provided by their corporations,” he noted. Cullen added that members of the Philippine Internet Services Organization ( Piso) were also accountable.

Real public service

Evangelino D. Gob and Maria Remedios Veloso-Gob are very grateful to J. R. Denevro of the Department of Trade’s Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection for helping them sort out their problem with Duty Free Philippines.

The Gobs said Denevro “was crucial in facilitating an early resolution of this case as he was very diligent in following up unanswered calls that we made to the Duty Free after- sale department.”

Orchid show

Now that the Manila Seedling Bank has been dismantled to give way to yet another shopping mall, people looking for plants and garden supplies and tools should visit the 68th Annual Orchid and Garden Show at the Quezon Memorial Circle Hardin ng mga Bulaklak on Elliptical Road, Quezon City.

Organized by the Philippine Orchid Society ( POS), the show, which has for its theme “Orchids and Greens: Toward Achieving Ecological Balance,” will formally open at 4 p. m. on Feb. 27. It ends March 10.

It will feature floral and plant displays, competitions and a bazaar. Experts on the propagation of orchids and other plants, gardening and plant care, even the breeding of bantam chickens, will give lectures at 3 p. m. on selected dates.