PHILIPPINES RISING (Taga Monumento): world

Showing posts with label world. Show all posts

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Six Degrees Could Change the World - A Global Wake Up Call

29 March 2009

Right after Earth Hour 2009 last night, I was fortunate to catch National Geographic's documentary, Six Degrees Could Change the World. It's a rude and graphic reminder that the world is an increasingly fragile place and that we need to take the warnings seriously. The docu itself is based on the book Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas. Below is a fragment of the write up on Lynas' book and a video montage, both from the National Geographic website:

Six Degrees: The Book

Author Mark Lynas

In possibly the most graphic treatment of global warming yet published, noted science writer and 2006 National Geographic Emerging Explorer Mark Lynas explains in his latest book, Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet, how Earth’s climate will be impacted with every degree of increase in temperature — and what we need to do about it, now, to avert disaster.

Scientists have established that the current episode of global warming of about 0.7 degrees Celsius (1.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in the last century has pushed Earth’s temperatures up to levels unprecedented in recent history. A 2007 report by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that at no time in the past 1,300 years has our planet been as warm as it is now, while records from the deep sea suggest that temperatures are now within a degree of their highest levels in 1 million years.

I didn't get to see the whole documentary but I saw enough to realize that something more drastic needs to be done.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Terrible Diggings at the Monumento Continue

31 January 2009

Dapat magpakita kahit konting respeto ang gobyernong ito! (This government needs to show even a little respect!)

Notwithstanding our call for an immediate suspension of the LRT-MRT3 closing the loop construction project near Monumento to give way to public consultation, the diggings continue. There are big holes already in the periphery of the Monumento Rotunda. One of them shown below even has water in it. This is evident because of the reflected image of the Monumento in the water on the hole. Apparently, the workers may have hit some pipes. Talagang mukhang nagmamadali ang mga mamang ito! Calling on Caloocan City Mayor Atty. Enrico "RECOM" Echiverri and Chief City Engineer Rolly Eduria. Where is the permit for diggings like these that already encroach on the rotonda enclosing the Bonifacio Monument?

Let's pray for our country and our leaders that God may touch their hearts and direct their minds to do the right thing.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Monumento World Heritage Global Campaign

No. of Signatures

Published by Rolando G. Ocampo on Dec 14, 2008

Category: Culture

Region: GLOBAL

Host: www.gopetition.com

Target: The Philippine Government and the UNESCO

Description/History:

The Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City is considered by many Filipinos to be the greatest monument to valor and to love of freedom on earth honoring as it does the Philippines' greatest revolutionary hero, Andres Bonifacio, and the brave band of selfless men and women who joined him in igniting the firestorm of the Philippine Revolution in August 1896.

Its creation was mandated by Act No. 2760 of the Philippine Legislature on February 23, 1918 to be a lasting monument to the memory of Gat Andres Bonifacio and to the Katipuneros he led in 1896 in Asia's first national uprising against European colonial misrule. Act No. 2760 predated by three years the passage of Act No. 2946 by the Philippine Legislature on February 16, 1921 making November 30 of each a legal holiday to commemorate the birth of Andres Bonifacio. Aside from Dr. Jose Rizal, Bonifacio is the only national hero to have a legal holiday marked in his honor. The passage in 1918 of Act No. 2760 is that much more remarkable and historic because, at that time, the Flag Law which forbade the display of the Philippine flag (and even emblems of the Katipunan) was still in effect and would be lifted only on October 22, 1919 when the Flag Law was repealed by Act No. 2871.

The Monumento World Heritage Global Campaign and this online petition signing effort are part of the year-long commemoration of the diamond jubilee (75th anniversary) of the Monumento which was completed by renowned Filipino national artist Guillermo Tolentino in 1933.

Today, the integrity of the Monumento, as the Bonifacio Monument is fondly called, is under threat with the closing of the loop of the LRT and MRT. It is ironic but the greatest monument to freedom faces the risk of being imprisoned by the light rail ring of concrete and steel that is steadily going up around it. Today, giant billboards have sprung up around the Bonifacio Monument thereby unduly diminishing its stature and importance.

Filipinos everywhere are called upon to appeal to the government of the Philippines and the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to save the Monumento from further desecration. The best way this can be done is by having the Monumento enshrined in its rightful place among the UNESCO World Heritage cultural sites. Andres Bonifacio gave us our freedom. The least that we can do is to defend the integrity of the monument that is the enduring symbol of our nation's honor and dignity.

We call upon the Philippine government and its various instrumentalities and the UNESCO together with its parent organization, the United Nations, to take every step necessary to ensure the eventual inclusion of the Bonifacio Monument in the UNESCO list of World Heritage cultural sites.

(Sgd.)
Rolando G. Ocampo
Founding Member, Caloocan City People's Council
Lead Convenor, Monumento World Heritage Global Campaign

This petition is supported by the Caloocan City People's Council and its component organizations, among them SAMATRIP and the PD 1517 Coalition, primary defender of the Heroes del 96 community. Heroes del 96 is the largest urban community nearest the Bonifacio Monument. The history of this locality is closely interlinked with that of the Monumento and its people are the proud bearers of a magnificent cultural heritage and identity. Host convenor of the Caloocan City People's Council is Mrs. Luz Ambre of Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, Philippines.

Petition:

We, the undersigned, call on the Philippine government to support the campaign to have the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

We likewise call upon the UNESCO including its Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Committee to assist the Philippine government and the entire Filipino people in achieving the dream of having the Bonifacio Monument recognized and included among the UNESCO World Heritage List of Cultural Sites.

To sign this petition, please click this link: www.gopetition.com/online/23996

For those who have already signed, many thanks. Your support will go a long way towards heightening awareness about the Bonifacio Monument and the need to preserve and enhance it for future generations of Filipinos.