Oposa, Hagedorn provoke change
May 8, 2009

Failure is not an option.

As stated by internationally-acclaimed environmental lawyer, Atty. Antonio Oposa, this was the gist of the Environmental Forum sponsored by the Global Legal Action on Climate Change (GLACC) – Negros Occidental last Monday, May 4, 2009 at the West Negros University, Bacolod City.

Atty. Manuel Arbon and four volunteers from the Salonga Center for Law and Development attended the forum and pledged their support to prevent climate change, in behalf of the Center and of Silliman University.

“We are provoking you to think, not just think out of the box but also to live out of it,” Oposa said, adding that “human beings think; [they don’t] follow.” He referred to the careless modernization, extraction, and consumption of our natural resources which began in Western countries and should not be followed in the Philippines or anywhere else.

In his presentation, Oposa illustrated how industrial revolution has destroyed in just 200 years the natural environment which started around 4.5 billion years ago. Accordingly, human consumption has been irresponsible and abusive, with the misconception that the extraction of the “natural capital” without proper consideration translates to income and revenue.

“If man is the problem, man is the solution,” Oposa said, presenting the programs and achievements that counteract the destructive practices of human beings, as practiced in their pioneer project, the School of the Seas in Bantayan Island.

The institution teaches the villagers of environment-friendly practices, at the same time, using the same in its operations. It boasts of the use of energy generated from windmills and solar panels, 1 watt LED light bulbs, man-powered shredder, waterless urinal, and a comfort room that separates the solid and liquid waste by filtering the latter in a pond to be re-used and utilizing the former into methane gas for cooking.

Oposa also advocated for creative penalogy by punishing environmental law offenders creatively and making them allies of the environment. In addition, he encouraged participants to do positive action by making and sending letter requests or petitions to government officials, giving notices to sue, availing of administrative action and if warranted, filing for judicial action.

The Puerto Princesa Story

Meanwhile, the guest speaker of the forum, Hon. Edward Hagedorn, city mayor of Puerto Princesa, shared to the participants the core principles of his local governance in successfully balancing tourism and environmental protection.

The core principles include the protection of what is left of the natural resources, the rehabilitation of what has been destroyed, and the preparation of a plan for intelligent utilization.

“Man destroys…nature reacts,” Hagedorn’s presentation reads, showcasing the countless calamities and abnormalities in the climate that had happened recently. He also said that these calamities are “signs of the times.”

Hagedorn said that he started during his first term by moving people to sweep and clean the surroundings of his city. He also started the Pista Y Ang Kagueban or the Annual Feast of the Forest when people from all walks in life gather to plant trees and perform native cultural shows for the sake of Mother Earth. Since 1992, 1.7 million trees had been planted through this annual event.

Hagedorn echoed Oposa’s CPR principle in environmental care which stands for conservation, protection, and restoration.

The Environmental Forum centered on the theme, “Empowering Local Governments in Facing the Adverse Impacts of Climate Change.” Local government officials from Negros Island attended the event.

The participating volunteers from the Salonga Center were students Elizabeth Karla Aguilan, Terrence Anton Callao and Ma. Zusabel R. Digaum and the Center secretary, Andrea Alviola.