Sunday, August 9, 2009

EDITORIAL


A call for Clean and Safe Water

Water is one of nature’s most important gifts to mankind. It is very essential to life. Survival of human being depends on drinking water. Without it, everything suffers. A simple cooking needs water. Sanitation and personal hygiene, and other basic things we do needs water. We cannot even imagine how long can we stay without water. Our cells itself is composed mainly of 65-90% of water.
Water is one of the most essential elements to good health. Only 1% of the 70% water body of the Earth is available as a source of drinking. It is therefore important to save and protect the water source we have.
Many watershed areas have already been contaminated which ended to the sacrifice of the surrounding community.
Water is known as a natural solvent. Before it reaches the concessionaire’s tap, it comes into contact with many different substances, including organic and inorganic matter, chemicals, and other contaminants. This is the reason why water systems treat water with chlorine to destroy disease-producing contaminants that may be present in the water.
But is drinking too much chlorinated water safe? While chlorination kills harmful microorganisms in the water, epidemiological studies have also found that risk for bladder cancer, colon cancer, and rectal cancer increases with the length of life time one drinks chlorinated waters.
Chlorinating water therefore is not an ultimate solution to give us safe water that the Butuan City Water District is providing. It takes all sides to consider—the Local Government Unit to ensure protection of the watershed areas, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to guard against reported illegal mining activities in the upper portion of the watershed area, and the water district itself to ensure that the water that reaches in every household is clean and safe.
It is not good blaming on who’s who to what in order to stop the controversy that the water district is facing. There are stories coming in from all sides. What the concessionaries is looking at is the clear answer for clean and safe water.
The government of course has to investigate on alleged mining activities not far from the watershed areas. After all, the thousands of water concessionaires are at risk to health hazard should mining continue around the watershed area.It is not a question whether mining activity is legal or illegal. The government should stop the ongoing activities if there are because studies have found that mining operations contribute significantly to the pollution of water bodies in the mining communities. Related study results show that mining activity has contaminated water sources and these contaminants may spread in the surface water and groundwater.

The Last Frontier
By A.D.T.
Six Offenses Citizens Should be Vigilant
Against Government Employees
On September 8, 2009, the Anti-Red Tape Act or ARTA under R.A. 9485, would already be one year in existence or implementation. The primary purpose of the law is to prevent graft and corruption which usually arise from unnecessary delays in government transactions. Such delay is commonly known as Red Tape.
So, citizens, like you and me, should remember simple things every time they transact business with the frontline operations or basic services of the government. If any of these six offenses are committed by the government frontline service providers, after due process, they shall be suspended 30 days from work without payment of salaries and mandatory attendance in Values Orientation Program:

1. Refusal to accept application and/or request within the prescribed period or any documents being submitted by a client;
2. Failure to act on an application and/or request or failure to refer back to the client a request which cannot be acted upon due to lack of requirement/s within the prescribed period;
3. Failure to attend to clients who are within the premises of the office or agency concerned prior to the end of official working hours and during lunch break;
4. Failure to render frontline services within the prescribed period on an application and/or request without due cause;
5. Failure to give the client a written notice on the disapproval of an application or request; and
6. Imposition of additional irrelevant requirements other than those listed in the first notice [of disapproval] under Rule VI.

The Implementing Rules of this ARTA also provide that for second offense, the guilty government frontliner shall be punished with three months suspension without pay; and for third offense, dismissal and perpetual disqualification from public service.
The citizen should also be relieved to know that a fixer operating in the government agency shall be fined at no less than 20 thousand pesos but not more than 200 thousand pesos, or imprisoned not exceeding six years, or both fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.
Citizens should report any such offense to the concerned head of agency, or to the Civil Service Commission at 09185134278, or to the Ombudsman, Alvarez Street, Davao City.
Let us help the government eradicate graft and corruption. Be vigilant and report the violations.
JULY 22 - 28 2009 VOLUME 1 NO; 11 BUTUAN CITY PHILIPPINES

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