Press statement of Senator Loren Legarda

ON ECOLOGICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT

The national government must strictly enforce the Ecological Waste Management Act in order to improve the ecology, prevent diseases and minimize pollution that induce climate change. The disclosure by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that 658 local government units have failed to implement ecological waste management is alarming.

It is the poor that suffers the most from improper waste management. It is the poor communities that are situated near the garbage dumps, who sniff daily the foul smell emanating from the dumps, and who are afflicted by the diseases that the open and untreated dumps exude. Instead of just issuing warnings, the DENR should file charges against those responsible. After all, the law has already been in place for years.

The national government must also find out why the local government units, especially the barangays, are failing to implement the waste management act. It is perhaps they lack of technical and material assistance. Therefore the national government must accelerate its aid to local governments, especially in this sector.

ON AUTOMATED POLLING

The experience at Iran where the recent presidential elections were allegedly manipulated to favor the incumbent, causing riots and deaths, should be a lesson to us that automated polls can be rigged. The results of the Iran elections were known within two days because of automation but the results were still questioned by millions of voters.

The Commission on Elections has sworn to keep the polls honest. But there is a need for strict oversight by non-partisan and non-government organizations. While automated polling, is definitely an improvement over manual canvassing, no human-made system can be absolutely free from rigging. Vigilance is the price of liberty. We must prevent chaos and revolution resulting from another fraudulent election.

ON ILLEGAL DRUG TRADE

The United Nations report that the Philippines is third in the world in the manufacture of illegal drugs, like shabu, is shocking. The report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (Undoc) places the Philippines as fifth in the world in terms of shabu seizures from 1998 to 2007. But it also lists our country as third in the manufacture of shabu, after China and Myanmar.

This proves that our government, despite its vigorous publicity of its drive against illegal drugs, has failed to curb the manufacture and trade of illegal drugs in our country. Could the numerous publicity about anti-drug operations and seizure of shabu by our law enforcement agencies be just a cover-up for this failure?

The drug menace has invaded not just Metro Manila and the metropolises in our country, but also the provinces and towns. Drug addiction not only debilitates our youth and work force, but it also is a source of criminality and corruption of our public officials, law-enforcement officers and even politicians. The government failure to stop this illegal practice deserves our utter condemnation.