The Four-eyed Journal » Advocacy

More than beyond the hour, how about beyond Earth Hour itself?

jhay — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 13:27:05 +0000

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Earth Hour as far as raising awareness about protecting our environment goes.

However, it’s method, which is encouraging everyone to turn off the non-essential lights and appliances in their homes, businesses etc for one hour in order to cut back on power usage, I find lacking if not merely symbolic.

It is claimed that by turning off our lights for one hour throughout the world electricity consumption will be reduced which will in turn reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Well that’s true if the power plants that run on fossil fuels also ‘switch off’ during the Earth Hour event.

When in reality it does not. And this is where the ‘magic’ of Earth Hour fades away. Gavin Atkins has a plain explanation as to why this is so:

So here’s the thing: coal-fired plants are not like cars that require only enough fuel to meet demand – they require the same amount of fuel all of the time.

Whether or not everybody turns all of their electrical appliances on or off, it makes no difference to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. All of our coal-fired power stations will continue to burn coal and create carbon dioxide at the same rate because that’s how they operate.

Sure, electricity consumption might dip, but not carbon dioxide emissions. If anyone tells you that Earth Hour saved any amount of carbon dioxide emissions, they are lying.

Sure, Earth Hour reduces megawatts of electricity world wide but it’s just for 60 minutes of a single day in a year. After the hour has passed, we all go back to our unsustainable lifestyles. And again, while those who participated had their lights off during Earth Hour, the power plants continued to burn fossil fuels and emitted greenhouse gases so that when the event was over, there’s a ready supply of electricity to make sure everything goes back to normal.

Like what I’ve said at the beginning, raising awareness is good. But I think people are aware enough by now that it’s a good time to move on from awareness raising into something more concrete.

Which is why I liked the theme for this year’s Earth Hour, “Beyond the Hour” it may not be beyond Earth Hour or turning lights off for an hour itself, but at the very least it’s a sign that things are progressing along towards more concrete actions towards protecting the environment.

And because this is now a yearly event, Earth Hour is now becoming more trivialized than ever. It’s remaining to be a mere symbolic event. Tonyo Cruz got it spot on when he tweeted:

Many Filipinos love Earth Hour. But the worst environment destroyers have inserted themselves in the event to deodorize their records.

March 26, 2011 7:06 pm via TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite

@tonyocruz

Tonyo Cruz

The point is simple, it’s time to move beyond Earth Hour itself and do concrete steps for the environment. Lobbying for more power plants that use renewable energy is a good start.

De La Salle Brothers’ Open Letter to the COMELEC

jhay — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:38:25 +0000

The De La Salle Brothers in the Philippines have once more stepped up to the plate and made a stand on the upcoming 2010 automated elections. They have voiced their concerns via an open letter to the COMELEC which was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer last April 8, 2010. I’m publishing, the full text of the said open letter:

De La Salle Brothers’ Open Letter to COMELEC

Photos: Launch of DLSUD/HSI Bahay Pag-asa

jhay — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:50:48 +0000

The past week has been another busy one for me hence the lack of regular updates. The good side is, I have tons of photos to share and stories to tell with all of you.

This would be the first one, the launch of the Bahay Pag-asa in De La Salle University – Dasmariñas last January 19, 2009. It was a star-studded event as TV/movie personalities who received their education from a La Salle school was present to grace the event.

Center for CICLs

The Bahay Pag-asa project is a juvenile rehabilitation center for children-in-conflict-with-the-law (CICL) or those are who minor offenders. Long before the enactment of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 or R.A. 9344, children below the legal age of 18 who have been caught committing offenses or have been accused of the same, where treated like any other adult offender; they were locked up in the same appalling jails and prisons, their rights as children and accused are neglected and they are subjected to inhuman and life-scarring experiences which already do more harm than being convicted and sent to regular prison.

Fortunately, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 changed all of that and mandated that minor offenders be not put in the same detention cells as the adult offenders. More so, the law provides them the opportunity and chance, thru alternative child-friendly measures, to reform and be reintegrated into their family and community as a productive member of society.

Bahay Pag-asa aims to be that place where CICLs are taken care of and rehabilitated pending the resolution of their case. It is a sanctuary where the spirit and letter of Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 is followed and implemented.

To this end, De La Salle University – Dasmariñas, De La Salle Health Sciences Institute teamed up with the PLDT Smart Foundation to turn this dream into a reality.

Art for life

During the opening of Bahay Pag-asa, an art auction for raising funds for the center was held with the big names in business and Philippine movie industry as guests and benefactors.

TV host star Edu Manzano was host for the auction and he really knew how to work the crowd and entice them to take out their check books and score fine pieces of art work, created by some of the CICLs themselves, in order to raise much needed funds for the completion of the project.

Actor Diether Ocampo was also present to show his support for this worthy cause. He even bought a piece of artwork which he hotly fought for during the auction. The event was spearheaded by Anthony Pangilinan, Executive Director for Juvenile Rehabilitation of the PLDT Smart Foundation and DLSU-D and HSI President Bro Gus Boquer, FSC. Local government and police officials were also present to show their support for the project. After all, they too are important partners in implementing the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.

The luncheon spectacle was capped by a wonderful performance of the Kundirana 2009 group from La Salle Greenhills.

It’s our calling

Completion of the Bahay Pag-asa is still on going and still waiting for more generous donors and benefactors. We hope that with this, those who would like to support this great cause would be encouraged to do so. It all starts by getting in touch with the PLDT Smart Foundation or DLSUD.

Together, let us build a better future for our children, especially those who are at risk and in conflict with the law.

Bente: LCDC 20th Anniversary Exhibit

jhay — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:36:42 +0000

Just this afternoon, the mother office of the student volunteer group I am part of, kicked off their 20th anniversary celebrations by opening the “BENTE: Dalawang Dekada ng Lasalyanong Paglilingkod” an exhibit which features the Lasallian Community Development Office‘s 20 years of history, origins, programs, achievements and awards.

I am part of the organizing team that spearheaded the exhibit. We spent the last two months of 2009 preparing everything for the exhibit from conceptualization, materials production and even the mounting itself. More photos of the launch here.

Along the way, I was able to put my novice Photoshop CS3 + photography skills to the test because I was assigned as the “lead graphics designer”. Would you believe that?! My task was to photograph each piece of memorabilia the office has under its roof and transform those images into exhibit-ready pieces using Photoshop CS3 and some inspiration from nearby calendars. It was a fun, challenging and learning experience as I was not only able to learn new things and be really creative with Photoshop CS3, but I was also able to learn a lot more about my mother-office’s colorful history and legacy.

DLSU-D students and faculty may visit the LCDC Bente Exhibit at the Aklatang Emilio Aguinaldo and it’s open during the library hours. Along with the exhibit, LCDC has also prepared “Sine Bente” a screening of selected documentaries about the environment, poverty, socio-political advocacies and many more.

With this, we hope that many more Lasallians will learn about the colorful history of LCDC and the Lasallian Mission of social transformation which we will continue to struggle for the next twenty years and beyond.

2008 in Photos: Volunteerism, advocacies, photography and love

jhay — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:11:42 +0000

The year 2008 has been awesome for myself, my fellow volunteers and friends. I hope you’ll join me in this long post that looks back at the past events that I joined, witnessed and become part of this past year:

February

We held our breaths as we delegates to the Students’ Constitutional Convention and officers of the University Student Council 2007-2008 waited for the results of the plebiscite on the newly revised University Student Council Constitution of DLSU-D. Thankfully, it was ratified!

With the new USC Constitution ratified and in effect, we then focused on our advocacies such as taking a stand on the NBN-ZTE corruption scandal. On this day, the University released a statement regarding its position on the said issue.

The move was followed up by a University-wide forum on the NBN-ZTE scandal to better inform the academic community about the issue and to remind everyone of the stand the University has taken.

A day to reckon with, the DLSU-D contingent of students, faculty and several adminstrators in a convoy of two school buses were harassed and blocked by Bacoor Police first at Daang Hari then at Emilio Aguinaldo Hi-way in our peaceful attempt to join the Inter-faith rally at Makati.

At the end of the month, I visited the Cavite State University in Indang as a guest speaker on the basics of blogging in a seminar that tackled new trends in media. I thank Neil Bernardo of Es2pido.com for the honor and opportunity. And of course for the kapeng barako they gave me.

March

The third month of 2008 was less intense than February. On the first week, we the brave 85 Lasallians who were blocked and harassed and prevented from joining the Makati rally finally met with Jun Lozada at a forum at La Salle Greenhills. Lozada and the other delegates were appalled when they heard us re-tell the story of that infamous day.

Inspired from that encounter and having learned from that experience, we returned to DLSU-D and organized the Cavite Inter-faith Gathering so as to make known to the country that Cavite is not “GMA Republic” as some of her supporters claim.

With the closing of the school year, a good friend and fellow volunteer of mine capped it off by joining the Youth Action Day at Liwasang Bonifacio. It was a fun and encouraging experience to join ranks with other youth and students in standing for what is right and just for our country.

April

Come April we held a small party for scholars, committee members and avid supporters of the University Student Council 2007-2008. It was the least we could do to reward all of them who have helped us in the USC in carrying out our duties, projects, programs and activities. They were with us through the toughest times and the lightest ones.

Quickly after that, we were back on the streets, marching towards the Supreme Court which decided in favor of Romulo Neri on the issue of using executive privilege during the Senate hearings on the NBN-ZTE scandal, to appeal that ruling. Sadly, the Supreme Court upheld its decision.

Moving, it was time for some serious break from all the hard work at the University. I went away to Puerto Galera with my barkada to celebrate the birthday of my best friend’s younger brother. Three days and two nights of beach, fun, parties and babes. It was awesome!

May

The last month of summer break was quite memorable contrary to what I believed the month before. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the press launch of the Asus Eee PC 900. We all know how it went on from there right? The face of mobile computing has never been the same.

After that, I was back at DLSU-D for another exciting and joyous event. The blessing of our last project in the USC 07-08; the DLSU-D Jeep aka “Ikot La Salle”. It’s a safari-type passenger jeep that will make rounds in DLSU-D’s large campus, saving students from the pain of walking around campus. Plus, they are able to keep their fellow Lasallians in school because a huge chunk of the earnings will go to the scholarship fund.

On the last week of May, another blessing came my way. My very first laptop, a Compaq Presario c765TU. My blogging has never been the same.

To wrap up my summer break and to prepare for the coming school year, I joined my fellow volunteers and faculty from the LCDC in an exposure trip to Subic. Though I did not enjoy the beach, visiting the Preda Foundation and learn from their experiences in taking care of juvenile delinquents and youth which are in conflict with the law.

June

June opened with a bang for me and my fellow bloggers at Bloggers’ Kapihan when we trouped all the way to Angeles City, Pampanga to help in the launching of Gov. Among Ed Panlilio’s blog. We’re so excited to have Among Ed blogging because it’s another way to make blogging more relevant to the Kapampangans and for the good governor to reach out and spread the virtues of good governance.

It was also at this time that a new mobile network came out. uMobile and they have one fancy idea: give the subscribers free credits every time they view an advertisement. Sounds cool, but eventually the idea never fully took off and its parent company Smart Communications, Inc. re-branded it into Red Mobile which is set to compete with Sun Cellular.

June is also the opening of the new school year and so it was back to my usual work load. Actually I had more this time around as I was elected as the Coordinator of the SERVE volunteers. Our very first activity was the General Assembly for all volunteers, especially the greenhorns because it was aimed at welcoming and orienting them into the world of volunteerism.

Asides from being the “Kuya” of the SERVE volunteers in DLSUD, I was once more donned my director’s cap as I facilitated the yearly Theater Acting Workshop for the theater group of my high school Alma Mater, Infant Jesus Academy’s Teatro Artistico. Didn’t know I was in stage acting didn’t ya?

July, August & September

These months were quite low in terms of the number of activities and events I joined. Mainly because it’s the middle of the 1st semester and so academics were my priorities. The few events that took place though were big ones. Jun Lozada was finally able to visit DLSU-D and shed more light on why we must come together in seeking out the truth.

Come August, our new volunteers had a taste of what it’s like to be one. The annual Self-Awareness and Advanced Leadership Seminar were held with almost 100 volunteers making up the contingency. It was three days of fun, learning, bonding and getting the hang of being a volunteer.

Another big event that closed my August is the grand Truth Festival held at the Raha Sulayman Park in Manila where artists, activists, priests, nuns, students, musicians, performers, street children, and common folk joined together and used art, music, lights and dance to send one message: the people seek the truth.

Come September, I held a swimming party to celebrate the birthday of my significant other.

October, November & December

The last three months of 2008 has been equally momentous to me. The sem-break was spent quite well with a gathering of all student volunteer groups in DLSUD with Bro. Ceci, FSC where we discussed possible closer collaboration between the different volunteer groups.

November saw another awesome gift for me, my very own dSLR camera, a Nikon D40. You’ve probably noticed by now how my photos seemed to have changed compared to the ones from the earlier months.

Also in November, I returned to becoming a playwright and director when together with the senior students of Infant Jesus Academy, we mounted an epilogue of the classic Shakespeare play, The Merchant of Venice. All this in part of the Book Month Celebrations of IJA.

December opened with us caring for the needy. We volunteers helped the LCDC with the Blood Letting project. The demand for blood has been increasing in Dasmarinas because of the various accidents and illness inflicted upon the residents. However, we remain vigilant in helping them in any way we can.

Another growing tradition here in DLSUD is the annual lantern parade. It may not be as big and famous as the one held by the University of the Philippines, but we Lasallians are sure on our way.

In celebration of the International Human Rights Day, we organized a round-table discussion about the state of human rights cases here in Cavite. It was then followed up by a bigger commemoration gathering at the Imus Cathedral where mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, Ms Edith Burgos was joined by Axel Pinpin, known as one of the ‘Tagaytay 5′ on the panel of speakers.

Lastly, I wrap up 2008 with the Gift-giving/Christmas party organized by the Nuestra Senora de Candelaria Parish here in my home town of Silang, Cavite for the poor and marginalized in our parish. It was a day of sharing and having fun.

I thank you so much for making it this far. Thank you also for going down memory lane with me, 2008 has been colorful, fruitful, and an awesome one for me.

How was your 2008? I’m sure have interesting stories and memories to tell as well. Do share them through the comments below and lets enjoy the closing hours of 2008 while we look forward to a more hopeful and fruitful 2009.