Haze still in Bohol

Wake-uppers:

Scene: The local government of Candijay has placed the town under a state of calamity to help the more than 2,000 farmers who were not able to plant their palay due to the long drought that has dried up their farmland.According to Jeryl Lacang-Fuentes, municipal disaster risk reduction and management officer, the resolution was passed in mass motion so help would be provided to the affected farmers. Candijay was the second town in Bohol that was placed under the state of calamity due to the water shortage.

Seen: Miss Bohol Sandugo 2011 Farrah Faye Abarquez Mian passed the September 2019 Physician Licensure Examination (PLE).

Scene: Boholano singer Allan Roy Santarin of Valencia town is step closer to his dream after making it to the Top 64 of GMA’s singing competition "The Clash" Season 2.

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It's 'Plastic Free Bohol' not 'Free Plastic Bohol'

More than 2,000 volunteers joined the International Coastal Cleanup in Bohol province last week.

The presence of Bohol's "mermaid"Jammy Ungab of "Plastic Free Bohol" movement inspired many young people to help clean the environment.

Jammy, who fights for tighter regulations on the use of plastics,  was included in Inquirer's "33 people and projects that moved PH communities" in 2018.

In Doljo Beach in Panglao, volunteers were able to collect a total of 2,300 kgs of non-biodegradable trash.

Plastic Free Bohol also clarified that the movement is "Plastic Free Bohol," and not "Free Plastic Bohol."

"Plastic Free Bohol has been doing what it is doing for more than three years now (and still counting), and yet we still hear from people calling or labeling us differently—such as Free Plastic Bohol,"  a statement posted on Friday.

"Plastic Free Bohol" is a network of volunteers that aims to end plastic pollution in the province, while "Free Plastic Bohol" is a phrase that either suggests releasing plastic or giving away plastics for free in the province.

See the big difference!

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The haze remains in Bohol’s atmosphere, at least until yesterday, and authorities are urging the public to still take precautionary steps, especially those who have sensitive health conditions.

Engr. Cindy Ochea, head of the Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement Division of Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) - 7, said that it's still there.

Six-year-old Jessa Mae Jala has been sneazing and coughing since Wednesday last week. At night time, the child has been hack that prompted her mother, Rowena, to bring her to a clinic for a check up.

The child is not the only one suffering.  All over Bohol, some people are coughing, wheezing and sniffing as a spike in air pollution due to haze which is experiencing in the Central Visayas.

Dave Albarado, 44,  was complaining of runny nose, dry throat and cough since Sunday last week.

He said he has allergies but the weather for the past days worsen his situation that already affected his work becoming focus less.

"I think the haze could be the contributing factor of my allergies because my allergies last only for 24 hours. As of now, it has been days. I don't know what other possible causes of my allergies," he said.

To protect himself from air contaminants, he decided to buy and wear a mask.

"I am doing my best to stay indoor and take medicines to control my symptom," he said.

Residents have taken to social media how the haze is affecting them as air quality continued to worsen.

Some teachers at Dr. Cecilio Putong National High School were also wearing masks to protect themselves.

Another Tagbilaran resident Helen Alagadmo, 43, said she had escaped to  the countryside last Friday for a fresh air.

She went to Barangay Mayana in Jagna town, the highest point in Bohol, but she was surprised to find out that it was also blanketed with haze.

“There is no escape from it. But still a relief to be able to breathe in a cool place," she said while at the strawberry farm at Mayana Upper Sampong overlooking the mountain covered with haze.

“I woke up this morning and my nose was blocked once more,” she added.

The haze enveloping Bohol, which usually enjoys relatively clean air for a province its size, has prompted warnings to the young and elderly to wear mask.

The EMB and the state weather bureau Pagasa had confirmed the presence of haze affecting the Central Visayas including Bohol.

EMB  is monitoring the air quality, but it does not include Tagbilaran and Bohol just yet.

Ochea urged the public to wear protective gear like face mask and to stay indoors as much as possible.

Dr. Jeia Pondoc, Tagbilaran City Health Officer,agreed.

She said she was unsure if the haze contributed to the illnesses experienced by some residents lately.

But she said it was nonetheless necessary to take precautions.

“We advise them to wear the N95 mask rather than the surgical mask,” she said.

N95 masks, she added, could prevent hazardous substances from entering the nostrils.

“The surgical masks have big holes and are merely used in hospitals,” Pondoc said.

Aside from wearing face mask, she also advised the public to eat healthy and nutritious food and to drink plenty of water.

She advised people to stay indoors.

"We have to stay indoors especially  those patients who have history of asthma or having asthma, indoors jud, especially those patients who are susceptible for allergies or having allergies. It could be better for them to stay indors, refrain from outdoor activities just for this time," she said.

Aside from this, the public is advised to monitor updates on the haze situation.

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Bohol’s 'mermaid' fights for plastic free

Wake-uppers:

Scene: Lutgardo "Gardy" Labad for being recognized and awarded by the Film Development Council of the Philippines' "SineSandaan" as one of its Luminaries in the field of Music Score. His contribution and excellence in film scoring include Ganito Kami Ngayon, Paano Kayo Ngayon; Magnifico, Ang Tatay kong Nanay, Tinimbang ka Ngunit Kulang, etc.

Scene:  Andrew Braker from SHS Department and  Carl Joellie Tentativa  from College of Nursing were crowned  Mister and Miss UB Personality 2019.

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What do young people and plastic have in common? They will both be around longer, especially the plastic.

Plastic waste that we are inheriting as it accumulates everyday on land, in the oceans, in their food chain and in their bodies.

But there is a "mermaid" in Bohol fighting for tighter regulations on the use of plastics and better waste management in Bohol province.

Because of Jammy Ungab's "Plastic Free Bohol" campaign, some local governments started banning the use of plastic bags.

Jammy, 34, earned the moniker “The Mermaid of Bohol” because of her advocacies-and she spends most of her time in the seas.

In 2018, Jammy was included in Inquirer's "33 people and projects that moved PH communities."

As an ambassador of Save The Mermaids and 5 Gyres , Jammy joins other young people to fight plastic pollution through science, education, research, and adventure.

“We are fighting to save the sea from human pollution,” she said. “I have to start it here in our home province.”

“I love to travel, surf, hike, and take pictures of landscapes. My love for adventure has brought me to off the beaten spots and made my eyes open to the reality our environment, especially our oceans, are facing,” she said.

She has been to beautiful remote spots around the country and she said those beautiful spots have something we don’t usually see on the internet before....plastics.

“I love the ocean. It is my home, my church, and my best friend. The ocean is so dear to my heart not only because it provides us most of the oxygen we breath, and provides us food and livelihood, but the ocean also helped me beat depression,” she said.

From the moment she found genuine happiness and herself again, she vowed to help protect our oceans in her own little ways.

Spending so much time in the sea, Jammy also created and designed her own “eco-friendly” bikini line “Marikit.” It is a handmade crochet swimwear which a portion of the sale goes for ocean conservation and end starvation of children in the Philippines.

“I moved back to Bohol three years ago to start my small sustainable business that gives back to the ocean. That was also when I noticed how bad littering and the solid waste management is in our province. I went home upset one day after seeing all the trash that were left by beach goers and next thing I knew, I published a social media page called Plastic Free Bohol,” she said.

Plastic Free Bohol is a grassroots movement Jammy  started to raise awareness on plastic pollution in Bohol island since there were no groups or organizations in Bohol that are actively campaigning against single use plastics.

“I started sharing articles and my journey to a less waste lifestyle (not zero waste yet),” said Jammy who realized it’s not an enough effort, so she started organizing beach cleanups to get the community involved.

“Cleaning beaches is not the solution, but it helps make the animals safer and it is also a great venue to raise awareness and meet like minded people,” she said.

When she has time and opportunity, she also talks to politicians and business owners to encourage them to ban single use plastics. The journey, according to her, is not a walk in the park. She said it is actually very hard and challenging.

“Being an ambivert, but more of an introvert, it is a big challenge for me to talk with a lot people I don’t know and even more challenging if you’re trying to change their mindset, convincing them to change some of their habits,” she said.

Jammy said she is not good in public speaking, but she does everything to get the word out there.

“It’s about time that we should stop ignoring plastic pollution. We might not feel the effects here in our province now, but we will in the next few years when we are already swimming in a sea of plastic,” she said.

When Panglao Island was haunted by environmental problems and woes, Jammy and her group conducted regular clean-up drive in the touristic island.

The movement’s “Bohol’s Baktas” clean-up on Alona beach stretch last June yielded about 8.7 lbs (approx. 4 kilos) of cigarette butts alone.

There is a need to continue educating both locals and visitors.

“Teach them on how to be more responsible with their trash,” she said.

She said 8 million tons of plastic enters our oceans every year and it will only get worse if people are still not going to do something about it.

She said scientists agreed that by year 2050, there will be more plastics in our oceans than fish.  She urged people to be part of the solution.

“You don’t have to be a marine biologist nor a scientist nor a policy maker to help fight plastic pollution. You just need to have love and compassion,” she explained.

“Love for your health, for our Mother Earth, and for the generations to come. There’s so much you can do. How? You can start by saying NO to single use plastics, by choosing reusables over disposables, by buying less, by picking up at least 5 pieces of rubbish everyday, and stop littering,” she added.

And the mermaid is watching!

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