November 07, 2006
GUEST BLOGGER: Kara Santos (WFS Philippines)
In the time it takes to watch a movie, around three children around the world would have stepped on a landmine. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) projects that at least one person is killed or maimed every 22 minutes.
These deadly devices placed on or underneath the ground are designed to explode when triggered by pressure. Unlike other weapons like bombs and grenades, landmines directed towards people attack indiscriminately, as they "can not distinguish between the footfall of a soldier or a child." Some landmines are shaped like small pineapples or butterflies, which children often mistake for toys. Once laid, they can cause serious injury and death to civilians and children, long after the conflict has ended.
Anti-vehicle landmines, which are supposed to target military tanks, can mistake passenger vehicles as their prey, killing those travelling back to their homes. This has affected the return of evacuees and rehabilitation of affected farm land in Central Mindanao and Sulu. Humanitarian and medical groups have also been prevented from reaching evacuees because of the danger posed by landmines on the ground.
Compared to other countries like Cambodia, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Laos, the landmines problem in the Philippines is not as alarming. However, the problem exists, no matter how limited in certain areas of armed conflict in the country.
Some figures:
Landmine incidents in 2005 occurred in 21 provinces in the Philippines - 12 in Mindanao, 2 in Visayas, and 6 in Luzon.
From 2003 to 2005, at least 213 persons were either killed or wounded in landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) incidents. Victims are mostly government soldiers, but farmers and civilians are also affected.
In 2005, of the 145 mine/IED casualties, 19 were civilians. Seven civilians (one child) were killed while 12 civilians (two women) were injured.
Public awareness on the issue remains low while efforts towards mine risk education and survivor assistance are limited to non-government organizations, religious and humanitarian groups.
In a recently held Youth Advocacy Workshop on Landmines in Vientiane, Laos, the Philippines was among the nine countries that agreed that there is a need to raise awareness on the issue of landmines, with the intent of getting governments to pass domestic legislation on landmines.
Since 2000, four House Bills and one Senate Bill drafted by the Philippine Campaign Against Landmines (PCBL) on landmines have been filed but not enacted into law, because they have been considered low priority. Presently, House Bill No. 2675 of Reps. Mario Joyo Aguja, Ana Theresia Honiveros-Baraquel and Loretta Ann P. Rosales and counterpart Senate Bill No. 2064 of Sen. Juan M. Flavier for a "Philippines Comprehensive Law on Landmines" has not been approved.
PCBL calls on Congress to pass this Comprehensive Landmines Law which has been in limbo for the past 6 years. They also call on concerned citizens and groups to join in this humanitarian effort.
For more information on the Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines (PCBL), email: Kara Santos at kara.m.santos (at) gmail (dot) com or PCBL at gavroche (at) info (dot) com (dot) ph.
In the time it takes to watch a movie, around three children around the world would have stepped on a landmine. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) projects that at least one person is killed or maimed every 22 minutes.
These deadly devices placed on or underneath the ground are designed to explode when triggered by pressure. Unlike other weapons like bombs and grenades, landmines directed towards people attack indiscriminately, as they "can not distinguish between the footfall of a soldier or a child." Some landmines are shaped like small pineapples or butterflies, which children often mistake for toys. Once laid, they can cause serious injury and death to civilians and children, long after the conflict has ended.
Anti-vehicle landmines, which are supposed to target military tanks, can mistake passenger vehicles as their prey, killing those travelling back to their homes. This has affected the return of evacuees and rehabilitation of affected farm land in Central Mindanao and Sulu. Humanitarian and medical groups have also been prevented from reaching evacuees because of the danger posed by landmines on the ground.
Compared to other countries like Cambodia, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Laos, the landmines problem in the Philippines is not as alarming. However, the problem exists, no matter how limited in certain areas of armed conflict in the country.
Some figures:
Public awareness on the issue remains low while efforts towards mine risk education and survivor assistance are limited to non-government organizations, religious and humanitarian groups.
In a recently held Youth Advocacy Workshop on Landmines in Vientiane, Laos, the Philippines was among the nine countries that agreed that there is a need to raise awareness on the issue of landmines, with the intent of getting governments to pass domestic legislation on landmines.
Since 2000, four House Bills and one Senate Bill drafted by the Philippine Campaign Against Landmines (PCBL) on landmines have been filed but not enacted into law, because they have been considered low priority. Presently, House Bill No. 2675 of Reps. Mario Joyo Aguja, Ana Theresia Honiveros-Baraquel and Loretta Ann P. Rosales and counterpart Senate Bill No. 2064 of Sen. Juan M. Flavier for a "Philippines Comprehensive Law on Landmines" has not been approved.
PCBL calls on Congress to pass this Comprehensive Landmines Law which has been in limbo for the past 6 years. They also call on concerned citizens and groups to join in this humanitarian effort.
For more information on the Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines (PCBL), email: Kara Santos at kara.m.santos (at) gmail (dot) com or PCBL at gavroche (at) info (dot) com (dot) ph.
Labels: environment, politics
March 22, 2006
Today is World Water Day.
For about a month, my friends over at San Pedro (Laguna) didn't have any running water. They, along with other residents in their subdivision, were settling their water bill through the homeowners' association. Otherwise, they'd have to make the trip downtown - not exactly a convenient option for most residents. Then one day, the water supply got cut. It turned out that the homeowners' association had suddenly become unreliable with the water bill payments. Instead of passing the payments onto the private firm that supplied the residents' water, the association wanted to seize the firm and run it themselves.
And so the homeowners' association politicked over water while my friends had to agonize over alternative water sources and the prospect of rusty pipes. There were delivery trucks, sure, but they were concerned about the contamination levels. Left without much choice, they resorted to water delivery, which put a huge dent into their budget.
The association even had the guts to hold an election to see if the community was for or against their handling of the water system. It was no surprise that they lost out on the vote. Eventually, the officers were forced to resign and were replaced by new ones. And the residents got their water back. Let's just hope that no one in the association starts hoarding the water again.
For about a month, my friends over at San Pedro (Laguna) didn't have any running water. They, along with other residents in their subdivision, were settling their water bill through the homeowners' association. Otherwise, they'd have to make the trip downtown - not exactly a convenient option for most residents. Then one day, the water supply got cut. It turned out that the homeowners' association had suddenly become unreliable with the water bill payments. Instead of passing the payments onto the private firm that supplied the residents' water, the association wanted to seize the firm and run it themselves.
And so the homeowners' association politicked over water while my friends had to agonize over alternative water sources and the prospect of rusty pipes. There were delivery trucks, sure, but they were concerned about the contamination levels. Left without much choice, they resorted to water delivery, which put a huge dent into their budget.
The association even had the guts to hold an election to see if the community was for or against their handling of the water system. It was no surprise that they lost out on the vote. Eventually, the officers were forced to resign and were replaced by new ones. And the residents got their water back. Let's just hope that no one in the association starts hoarding the water again.
Labels: environment, governance
