Speak your mind

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

By March Fianza

I envy Gilbert “Gano” Alberto’s guts. After successfully holding a free summer arts camp in April 2013 in Twin Peaks, Tuba, Benguet that was attended by at least 70 Kennon Rd. residents and students, his group this time is busy setting up a “Concert for Cause”, the proceeds of which are expected to fund a list of projects prepared by the Ghana Bergano Foundation,Inc. The Foundation is planning another summer arts camp at Twin Peaks in April next year. 

The concert will be on August 15, 2014 at the Amber Lounge, The Fort Strip BGC in Taguig, MM. It will feature “The Aristocrats”, an instrumental rock band from Europe that performs music for musicians. The coming event was organized by Jovan Lorenz Suanding Torres, one of the Foundation's board of trustees and an avid fan of the band. The band is presently on a concert tour in Vietnam and Thailand. Tickets at P2,500.00 are available at SM outlets. Show opens 7pm.

Last March, a “Battle of the Bands” project for the youth was staged at the Seven Angels College, Angono Rizal by the Ghana Foundation. At least 18 local youth bands from Antipolo City, Angono, Taytay and Marikina participated. It is also supports at least five high school student scholars enrolled at the Seven Angels College at Angono, Rizal.

The foundation was formed only last year and is headed by Gano, the stone-carver artist from Ifugao who became a double winner in the 10th International Sculpture Symposium in Morges Castle, Switzerland in June, 2011.

Ghana Bergano Foundation, Inc. also engages in a farm project at Twin Peaks, Kennon Rd., Tuba that is being proposed to be listed in The Lonely Planet TV program. Ghana farm is presently planted to pineapples, bananas, rambotan, guyabano, guava, coffee, mango, bugnay and other naturally grown fruit trees.

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Speak your mind, otherwise be prepared to be judged as a defender of law violators. A public official or a mere spectator, I have to examine myself whether I am for or against what took place at Mt. Sto. Tomas. Such reactions are only human and clearly understood by all, especially by those directly involved. After all, the immature and irresponsible acts affected not just a single tree but more than a thousand, in addition to the illegal massive earth-moving activity that destroyed the national park’s vegetation and rendered useless the facilities that supplied domestic water to tens of thousands of water consumers.

Friends I talked to had the same thing in mind. They said, “It’s time to move on. Nalpas nga naputed dagijay kayew. We know who did it, we know the government officials who knew about what was going on but kept mum about it, and we will not forget them and what they did. Time will come when the Sto. Tomas man-made disaster will go beyond the personalities involved, but their names will always be mentioned everytime stories of man-made destruction of the environment are told.” Others said, “Let justice prevail and let the verdict fall hard on the violators.”

For many, they fear that losing the case in favor of the lawbreakers will only serve to embolden future violators. I agree. One board member in Benguet said, “masapol ada makulong.” If so, a good thing to do then is to be vigilant not only about the outcome of the cases in court, but to watch the “body languages” of the lawyers and judges handling the cases. No technical arguments please. The violations are evident.

A strong judgment that will penalize to the max even the richest environment offenders will not just be another page in a law book, it will tell the world a true environment story that will be retold and retold: “Once upon a time…”    

Scan the decided cases fought by the DENR against illegal tree cutters. In the list, one will find it a pity that even just one felled tree sent many to jail. Because of the recent Sto. Tomas destruction, I am sure other violators who illegally cut more than just one tree are now comparing notes. If for just one tree, an offender was sent to prison, what are the chances that bigger violators go scot-free? If they do, then our justice system is sick.

While this was hot issue, I thought about Mondacs’ school children who have been planting Pine Tree seedlings in my grandmother’s land at Busol year in, year out. Soon they will grow up to hear the Sto. Tomas story. And their younger siblings will listen to them say“nagmulmula ak ijay Busol, ngem agputputed da met gayam ijay Sto. Tomas.”

And by the way, I have yet to hear from the Baguio Regreening Movement, environmentalist NGOs, and friends. Good for some city hall officials, they have the guts to say that the personalities involved still have their trust, whatever that means. I also have to admit that the Mt. Sto. Tomas fiasco has slightly opened a gap between friends. Soon I will hear from stateside friends Conrad, Richard, Felix, Jorge, Bryan, Alan, Danny, Dorothy, Harry and all, what’s the silence all about. I am confident that the hurt and the gap will heal soon as the offended mountain slowly regrows to its natural environment. But the story will surely be retold – “Once upon a time…”