Climate: The Philippines has a tropical marine climate, with the northeast monsoon, which produces a cool, dry season from December to February, and the southwest monsoon, which brings rain and high temperatures from May to October. Between March and May, hot, dry weather prevails. Temperatures in Manila range from 21C to 3 C, with an average annual temperature of 27 C. Temperatures elsewhere in the Philippines have been recorded at more than 37 C. The average monthly humidity ranges from 71 percent in March to 85 percent in September. Annual rainfall is heavy but varies widely throughout the Philippines, ranging from 965 millimeters in some sheltered valleys and the southern tip of the island of Mindanao to 5,000 millimeters along the mountainous east coasts of the islands of Luzon, Samar, and the northern tip of Mindanao. The Philippines lies astride the typhoon belt and experiences 15 to 20 typhoons a year from July through October, of which five or six may cause serious destruction and death.
Natural Resources: The major natural mineral resources include coal, cobalt, copper, chromite, gold, gypsum, iron, natural gas, nickel, petroleum, salt, silver, and sulfur. There are lesser deposits of bauxite, lead, mercury, molybdenum, and zinc. Other important resources are geothermal and hydroelectric power, fish, and timber.
Land Use: Out of a total land area of about 300,000 square kilometers, about 92,000 square kilometers are farmland, and about 72,000 square ilometers are forest land, including 65,000 square kilometers of public land and 7,000 square kilometers of privately owned land. Forest area fell steadily from 270,000 square kilometers in 1900 to 80,000 square kilometers in 1970 and to 54,000 square kilometers in 1985. Although forest area subsequently grew from its low in 1985 to its current level in 2004, deforestation is still a major problem. According to the agricultural census of 2002, the number of farms decreased from 4.6 million in 1991 to 4.5 million in 2002, and farm area declined during the same period, from about 100,000 square kilometers in 1991 to its current level.
Environment: The Philippines is prone to natural disasters, particularly typhoons, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis, lying as it does astride the typhoon belt, in the active volcanic region known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” and in the geologically unstable region between the Pacific and Eurasian tectonic plates. The Philippines also suffers major human-caused environmental degradation aggravated by a high annual population growth rate, including loss of agricultural lands, deforestation, soil erosion, air and water pollution, improper disposal of solid and toxic wastes, loss of coral reefs, mismanagement and abuse of coastal resources, and overfishing.
About 2-3 years ago, our municipality in Luzon decided to cancel garbage collection in the barangay, and it is having considerable impact to the appearance and potentially to the health and safety of this and other rural areas. (I suspect this may be occurring in other barangay regions in La Union and perhaps throughout the Philippines!) As litter is strewn along HI ways and drainage ditches, as residents and visitors no longer have receptacles to dispose of their debris.
This week, and out of frustration with the growing litter problem, I took it upon myself to visit our city’s municipal offices, and our police facility, to ask for guidance as to how residents were to safely dispose of their debris! I was informed they have been trying to find a solution for the past several years after cancelling the barangay disposal service due to budget limitations. (The budget problem appears to have risen after the city council approved upgrades and expansion of city council & municipality facilities, city police offices and the construction of a city stadium.) The departments I spoke with, among them the police and Municipal Agriculturist became very defensive when I objected to their evasiveness to answer my questions, and offensive when I criticized their suggestion to dig a hole and bury my debris. (My point being that the arbitrary burying of debris could potentially result in health and environmental issues like those experienced in China, and caused from hazardous materials like Zink, Lead, Mercury, Cd, harmful electronic materials, used petroleum products and expired pharmaceuticals being disposed without controls! And after my making them aware of the risks of their suggestion, they became abusive in their mocking and laughter at such a possibility, and also refused to provide me their names and contact information for the city councilors and mayor!
I have since attempted to escalate my concerns to La Union Governor Ortega, but he too has been reluctant to respond unless I first provide evidence of my following protocol and first contact local municipal offices, which I explained I was unable to provide as a result of their unwillingness to allow me to do so.
Consequently, I’m trying to identify a resource that might elevate this concern regarding the environmental risks of municipality carelessness throughout the Philippines, and that may provide the voice, leadership and moral conscience that PI elected officials have declined to do!