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Kamayan para sa Kalikasan
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Gov't assures safety but the people are not convincedPublic
Health Hazard Issue
Raised on Cellsite Antennas Disturbing Downloads Declare: Danger! AMONG the various peoples of the world, Filipinos have been known to be among the most active users of the cell phone short messages service known as “texting” and the urban youth and professional sectors have been praising the technology as very beneficial to people. Apparently, however, not all have been happy with this technology’s infrastructure. Some people, like the barriofolk in Pateros town in the heart of the metropolis, have raised the alarm over cellsite antennas built right in their neighborhood, and asked, “Are they safe for us?” |
‘Metro-Basura, Mega-Baha’ Directional Quest: Enforce
the Law! BOTH the citizenry and the government officials are challenged to fully know the con- tents of the Clean Air Act and the Solid Waste Management Law and to increasingly work for full enforcement of the twin measures for the envi- ronment as part of the heroism demanded of them to solve the interrelated garbage and flooding problems in Metro Manila. |
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EDITORIAL: BOXED FEATURE: COVER QUOTE:
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Government's Lack of Credibility Affects the People's Peace of Mind Mounting Resistance to Cell Phone Antennas
"We worked hard for those two laws on clean air and waste management to be passed. We should now know them by heart and effectively demand that they be enforced.” –Ms. Odette Alcantara, participant at Kamayan Forum’s July 2002 session. |
Sample picture of an antenna |
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Government's Lack of Credibility Affects the People's Peace of Mind THE issue of public safety of cell site antennas can not be resolved in one session of an environmental forum that Kamayan para sa Kalikasan has been for more than 12 years now. We can expect much information to be shared from both local and international sources, but it would not be easy to dispel serious apprehensions on the part of directly-affected communities that the cell site antennas towering right above their heads might be harmful. We are not against technological advance and we have in fact enjoyed the conveniences brought in by new technologies. But there is little to go by in seeking credible assurances on the safety of modern technological advances that have brought not only much convenience to people but much more in terms of profits to firms who control these technologies. Money. can. influence policy decisions. Take
the
case, for example, of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs)
found in a lot of foodstuffs being consumed by Filipinos
everyday. The government’s attitude seems to be “ignorance is
bliss –what we do not know can’t hurt us.” Or something like,
“when in doubt, do! say it’s all right!”
Baka naman walang hazardous element diyan!
Baka naman di hazardous! This
does not elicit confidence. We are not saying that all, or even most, of the government’s instrumentalities are prone to tell half-truths, and hand-wash, on issues crucial to the people's welfare, let alone safety. What we are saying is that government does not seem concerned about our peace of mind. Probably because it has lost the people’s confidence, or it has other masters. There have been many cases when government apologists for so-called “development” projects had officially issued assurances that later turned out to be speculative, to put it kindly. It is the government’s duty to protect the people, before protecting anybody else’s business concerns. Touché?
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Gov't assures safety but the people are not convincedPublic
Health Hazard Issue
Raised on Cellsite Antennas Disturbing Downloads Declare: Danger! AMONG the various peoples of the world, Filipinos have been known to be among the most active users of the cell phone short messages service known as “texting” and the urban youth and professional sectors have been praising the technology as very beneficial to people. Apparently, however, not all have been happy with this technology’s infrastructure. Some people, like the barriofolk in Pateros town in the heart of the metropolis, have raised the alarm over cellsite antennas built right in their neighborhood, and asked, “Are they safe for us?” An
interesting exchange of letters between the community leaders of
Samahang Magkakapitbahay ng Tulay na Bato in Barangay Sto. Rosario-Silangan
in Pateros and the Office of the Municipal Engineer reveals certain
issues of possible crucial relevance the the claimed safety of the
cellular base antenna located in the neighborhood: the health
effects of radiation from the antenna and the matter of environment
compliance as certified by the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources. Meanwhile,
the Social Research Center of the University of Sto. Tomas has
taken a keen interest in the issue
and initiated a
wide study of cellular
antennas radiation with informative data from the InterNet,
specifically on health hazards discovered in various countries.
The
various points of view on this potentially explosive topic are set
to clash during this month’s session of Kamayan para sa Kalikasan
environmental
forum
on
August
16,
with
various resource speakers, including Director Agnette P. Peralta,
representing Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit; Gilda Orate-Junsay who
heads the Samahang Magkakapitbahay ng Tulay na Bato; and Dr. Ernie
Gonzales of the UST Social Research Center. Smart
Communications and
Globe Telecommunications, the country’s top cellular
phones service providers, have been invited to send their representatives
to clarify their respective corporate policies on health
hazards. It is a Smart cellular base antenna constructed in Pateros. Also
expected to come are representatives of other communities, who
foresee construction of cellsite antennas in their own areas. This
session of Kamayan Forum is set to witness at 1 p.m.
the signing of the Covenant for Ugnayang Pamayanan by
Jose E. Cube, Barangay Chairman of Bukal, Majayjay, Laguna. He
would be the first barangay chief to sign this basic document of
the
grassroots-oriented
project
for the environment. Six barangay chairmen in Tubao, La Union have
also expressed interest to sign the document. Meanwhile, environmental video-showing, a new half-hour pre-forum feature c/o the Environmental Broadcast Circle (EBC), will debut next month. This will be from 10-10:30 a.m. before every session of Kamayan Forum.
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‘Metro-Basura, Mega-Baha’ Directional
Quest: Enforce
the Law! BOTH the citizenry and the government officials are challenged to fully know the contents of the Clean Air Act and the Solid Waste Management Law and to increasingly work for full enforcement of the twin measures for the environment as part of the heroism demanded of them to solve the interrelated garbage and flooding problems in Metro Manila. This
was the consensus of the participants in last month’s session of Kamayan
para sa Kalikasan. Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman
Bayani Fernando was to be the main speaker but he did not show up or send
a representative. The ending call of the editorial of last month’s issue of Kamayan para sa Kalikasan Journal turned out to be a prophetic one: “We all can be the super-bayani solving this problem, by actively moving together to reduce, recycle and reuse our solid waste, starting right at home, whatever government does, or does not do.” The government body in charge of flood control and waste management in Metro Manila could not even manage to send a representative to the forum. The office of Chairman Fernando had earlier assured forum organizers to send one in the event that the former mayor of Marikina could not make it. Forum participants gave information that Fernando has been refusing to talk with non-government organization (NGO) leaders on waste-management. Mother Earth Foundation President Sonia Mendoza was reportedly stood up by Fernando in a formally-scheduled appointment in his office.. Another
Bayani, this one surnamed Lagac, came to the forum as “an associate of
Juan de la Cruz” and expressed the view that working for the full
solution to the waste management problems in the metropolis would entail
a long process that involves effective education and the development of
self-discipline among the populace, including enough assertion of the
public interest in economics and politics. “It’s
all interrelated, so the solutions ought to be integrated,” he said,
“and that really takes time.” Other
participants expressed the view that while the long process needs patience
on the part of the people, the process should obviously be moving in the
right direction. The problem, they said, is that the actions of
the MMDA under Fernando are not only slow but they are reversals of the
forward moves already achieved in the last few years. They cited the
MMDA’s decision to close down the materials recovery facility already
operating in the national capital region, allegedly for failure to make
money, and the plan to use trains in moving out Metro Manila’s garbage
to as far as the Bicol region. Moreover, they pointed out, before the full implementation of the Clean Air Act could start in earnest, “incinerator-pushers” had mounted a strong lobby for its amendment to allow incinerators to operate. “This, plus the closure of the MRFs indicate that the direction is all wrong.” |
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Mounting Resistance By
Denise Minor Noe
Valley's landmark church steeple at 1021 Sanchez St. has become a
lightning rod for a controversy that is igniting throughout the
country. The
Noe Valley Ministry and many of its neighbors are in a heated battle
over whether the church can allow Cellular One and Pacific Bell
Mobile Services to install cellular telephone antennas in its
steeple. The fight has attracted the attention of two city supervisors
and television stations from as far away as Fresno. "Who
has the right to decide where we install antennas for cellular
telephones?" asked San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano.
"The federal law says that municipalities cannot take health
concerns into consideration when mandating where to put these
things." "Well,
I say too bad to that," Ammiano continued. "We need
to have some local controls." He
said he was impressed by the organization of the Noe Valley
neighbors in opposing the antenna installation. "It was a good
grassroots response right away," said Ammiano. "But we
also need to resolve this legislatively." Ammiano
proposes "interim controls," basically a moratorium, on
cell phone transmitters until the city can further study the issue
and come up with a master plan saying where they should be allowed. According
to Elizabeth Street resident Chris Beaver, San Francisco would be in
good company if it did so. He cited a July 28 story in the Denver
Business Journal, which stated that 266 other municipalities had
put the antennas on hold. But
the minister and elders of the Noe Valley Ministry say they believe
the city's Health Department, which has spent two years studying the
issue and concluded that there is no health hazard posed by radio
emissions from the antennas.
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Our thankful cheers to all of you!!! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
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All are invited. to the Kamayan para sa Kalikasan Environmental Forum held regularly since March 1990 on the 3rd Friday every month, 10 am-2pm at the Kamayan Restaurant along-EDSA, Mandaluyong City. It is convened jointly by the Communicators’ League for Environmental Action and Restoration (CLEAR) and Sanib-Lakas ng Inang Kalikasan (SALIKA), fully sponsored by Kamayan. |
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