| At Large From rhetoric to action |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer |
| Tuesday, 16 February 2010 08:57 |
|
First Posted 04:19:00 02/16/2010 http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20100216-253446/From-rhetoric-to-action I was planning today’s column on the way down from Tagaytay last Sunday, noting the many campaign materials nailed to trees and telephone poles and hanging from wires and cables. I was going to make a count and mention all the candidates violating the law, until I realized that some candidates whom I support (whom I will not name for fear of being forced to go on leave) had plastic pennants nailed to trees, too. This was when I remembered a little dust-up among friends some years ago over the issue of campaign materials. One of us was running for national office and one morning all of us passing along Edsa found most of the overpasses festooned with posters bearing his name and slogan. A common friend, an ardent environmentalist, declared soon after that he wasn’t voting for our friend precisely because of his “excessive” campaign materials. When next I saw our candidate-friend, I asked him about this and he could only reply that his campaign had relied on “suppliers” to put up the posters and banners around the country and that he didn’t know what they were doing. “But we’re asking them now to take these down,” he said, and true enough, his posters disappeared from the railings. And true enough, too, these were promptly replaced by materials of other candidates. Well, it may be too much to expect every candidate to know what supporters are doing, but I also think the candidate sets the tone for the entire campaign machinery, and what the machinery does reflects inexorably on the candidate. And if you’re running on a pro-environment platform, have made global warming a main issue in your campaign, and vowed to obey the rule of law—then running a “green” campaign is not just an option but an obligation. * * * SO I’m giving candidates the benefit of the doubt and assuming that perhaps “green” campaigning is still such a novelty that political parties and campaign workers have no idea about what steps to take to win elections while cutting down on trash, protecting trees, and respecting the environment. The EcoWaste Coalition launched last May a campaign for “Zero Waste” Polls with the support of Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Caloocan Bishop Deogracias S. Iniguez, Jr. and the Miss Earth Foundation. As part of that campaign, they have released guidelines on running a “clean and green” campaign, which sound eminently sensible and do-able, if the candidate truly cares to match rhetoric with action. Here are the guidelines: For starters, all candidates should assign a person or team in the campaign structure who will responsible for “greening” the campaign strategies and activities. Second, candidates should refrain from using excessive campaign materials such as leaflets, pamphlets, posters, stickers, decals, cloth and tarpaulin streamers, and other campaign paraphernalia. As much as possible, propaganda materials should be in post-consumer recycled paper and carry a friendly reminder that says, “Para sa ating kalusugan at kalikasan, huwag pong ikalat, itambak o sunugin,” or its equivalent in local languages. Candidates should refrain from using campaign materials that are hardly reused or recycled such as confetti, buntings and balloons, which often get burned or discarded in waterways, seas and dumps. Politicos should spare the trees of propaganda materials that can harm and even kill them, and reject graffiti or vandalism to popularize themselves. * * * FOR LITTER-FREE campaign meetings, sorties and related activities, the EcoWaste Coalition recommends the following: • Shun throwing confetti, exploding firecrackers or releasing balloons in campaign events. • Refrain from using Styrofoam, plastic bags and other single-use containers for volunteers’ meals and drinks. • Set up segregated waste bins for biodegradable and non-biodegradable discards in campaign assemblies. • Designate “eco-volunteers” to look after the bins and guide the public in the proper separation of their discards. • Clean up right after the campaign event. • Hire eco-aides to handle the segregated wastes for recycling and composting. It still isn’t too late for candidates to issue these same guidelines to their campaign staffs and suppliers, and to try to undo their more excessive and wasteful efforts. Maybe the next time I go up to Tagaytay, I’ll find more trees spared from plastic posters and the clutter of campaign materials gone or at least significantly reduced. I can always do an optical count next time and name names! * * * STILL on the environment, the Earth Day Network is asking not just candidates and political parties but also ordinary unsung citizens to formally declare what they’re willing to do to save the Earth. To mark their 10th anniversary, the Network has launched the “10 Million Movement” to get no less than 10 million signatures that signify an individual’s pledge to “commit to any Green Act for Mother Earth.” People’s responses to the question: “Ano ang taya mo? (What’s your stake?)” will determine whether Filipinos can really personally get behind the goal of saving the Earth one person, one act at a time. Bebet Gozun, president of Earth Day Network, says the acts need not be anything major or earthshaking. Simple deeds like using a glass when brushing teeth, turning off lights upon leaving a room, shutting off power for an hour, not littering, segregating waste, composting and recycling, are good enough. The Movement hopes to place sign-up tables in SM malls, as well as in schools and churches. Volunteers can also circulate the forms in their own schools, offices and neighborhoods. The target is to document 10 million pledged “Green Acts” by April 22. |
| Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 February 2010 08:59 |