Deceitful, fiery and vibrant month of March

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

March is a multi-faceted month as it hosts events that are sad, happy, and treacherous. In short, it is an exciting month. It is a reunion month too as it is the birth month of my son, grandson and me.
    A popular date in the month is the “Ides of March” on March 15. It is the first day of spring in the Roman calendar and the first day of the Roman New Year. It is a treacherous month as pseudo politicians resort to deceit to attain their objectives.
    A few days before March 15, in 44 BC; clairvoyants cautioned Julius Caesar about politicians and councilmen around him and to be aware of the “Ides of March”. As he was in a happy mood in a courtyard meeting, he forgot all about the warning and was stabbed by Marcus Brutus, one of his trusted confidantes.
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March is “Fire Prevention Month”. It was declared by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos under Proclamation No. 115-A, s. 1966. It reminds me of forest fires that usually occur in March. They are an everyday scene on the mountains of Benguet, Kalinga and Mountain Province.
    To prevent fires, keep heat, ignition and fuel such as combustible materials, equipment and structures away from each other. They complete the fire triangle.
    While forest fires are caused by lightning discharges and spontaneous combustion due to the hot climate, records show that 85 percent to 90 percent of forest fires are caused by campfires, burning cigarette butts and the kaingin system of agriculture which are man-made.
    These are not natural occurrences as reported but are actually fires by kaingin farmers. If these are natural fires, cattle and farm houses could have been burned down too, but no. It is because the animals are kept away before the fire is started.
    According to a forester friend in the DENR, there was in the late 70s a helicopter that was assigned to the agency as part of its Quick Response Program in fighting forest fires during summer months.
    The chopper was then dispatched everytime a fire razed a forested mountain somewhere. But it was noticed that even before the helicopter landed to unload firefighters, kids from a nearby village were already at the scene trying to put out the fire and putting their young lives at risk.
    It was found out that what the mountain boys wanted was to witness a chopper land in front of their innocent eyes. So, in a few instances, kids intentionally put the bushes on fire to attract authorities to promptly dispatch the choppers.
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Then we have “International Earth Day” during the Vernal Equinox on March 20. Obviously, this was introduced to make us earthlings take good care of our planet. In September, 1969, John McConnell of Iowa proposed “Earth Day”.
    It gained support from many other countries so that in 1970, McConnell wrote an Earth Day Proclamation which was signed by UN Secretary General U Thant on March 21, 1971. In some parts of the USA and Asia, it is called Sun-Earth Day.
    In the Philippines, then President Marcos declared every first week of March as “Environmental Week” under Proclamation No. 975, s. 1972. It focused national attention on the need for environmental planning and the control of pollution, deforestation and other threats to a balanced ecology essential for human progress and survival.
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On March 8, “International Women's Day” is celebrated. It is sponsored by the United Nations although it is not an original celebration by the UN. Celebration goes back to the late 1800s during the start of women's socialist movements and early women's trade union groups. Supposedly, it is celebrated for women outside of government.
    The first International Women's Day was celebrated on March 19, 1911 although women socialists and trade unions celebrated an earlier Women's Day in February of 1908. The annual celebration focused on women workers, advancing women's rights in the workforce and in politics.
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A weird celebration in March is the “National Pig Day” that is celebrated in the USA on the first day of the month. This recognizes domesticated pigs as big, pot-bellied pigs in zoos that are the symbol of the day.
    Those who celebrate “Pig Day” believe that like humans, pigs are clever and intelligent animals as they can be trained to do tricks. In the USA and in many parts of Europe, people keep them as pets and sleep with them.
    If there are days for pets, a mother’s or father’s day, why not a day for Lolo and Lola? I always wondered if there was any celebration for them. I was unaware that there was such a celebration declared by then President Ramos on March 6, 1996 making March 11-18 of every year as “Grandparents’ Week”.
    In his declaration, President Ramos mentioned about the tradition of fostering love and care for the Lolos and Lolas that needs to be preserved and inculcated in our youth and in the succeeding generations of Filipinos.
    For Americans, they even celebrate “Be Nasty Day” on March 8. There are “have a nice day” days and all sorts of other days but they also celebrate negative types of days. We did not celebrate this day in the Philippines until Facebook arrived. That is why netizens send all sorts of nasty messages, and that is done not only on March 8 but every minute of the day.
    And then there is “Panic Day” in the USA that is always celebrated on March 9. Be at peace with yourself on this day for today is Panic Day. Hopefully, last Thursday was just fine with you. Nobody wants bad luck on any day but when it comes, do not panic nor worry because the day will surely pass.
    A vibrant month to all, but beware of the traitors and politicians around you on the “Ides of March!”