It is one recognition we’d rather not own as it is, indeed, embarrassing, if not a sheer shame for our country.
VISUAL CAPITALIST, an online platform for global issues like markets, technology economy and energy, last week reported that the Philippines ranks first among countries that pollute the ocean with plastic waste.
The country is reported to annually dump 356,371 metric tons of plastic waste into the sea. The volume of our plastic waste is more than double of the second-ranked India, which has a record of 126,518 metric tons.
Brazil, which is on the seventh spot, is the only non-Asian country in the list.
Equally interesting is that, along with the Philippines, five of our ASEAN neighbors are in the list. These are Malaysia (3rd), Indonesia (5th), Myanmar (6th), Vietnam (8th) and Thailand (10th).
The other Asian countries in the Top 10 list with India are China (4th) and Bangladesh (9th).
We may argue that ours is an archipelagic country – being surrounded by the sea – to justify our ‘notorious’ record.
Apparently that justification may not be valid. For one, Japan, which is just as widely surrounded by the sea is not in the Top 10 list.
Likewise, Indonesia, which has more islands and people than the Philippines, contributes to sea pollution 56,333 MT, the figure showing that our plastic waste in the ocean is over 500 percent more than that of the fourth most populous country in the world.
VC explains that most of the plastic waste in the ocean come from those that people litter in parks or beaches or along street or road canals which are carried into drains, streams and rivers by wind and the flow of rainwater.
VC describes rivers as “superhighways transporting the plastic into the ocean.”
The recorded waste also include damaged fishing nets discarded at sea that add a large chunk to the plastic pollution in the deep waters.
We don’t have to look far and wide to acknowledge this fact. I recall that in several International Coastal Cleanup Days my university classes participated in prior to the pandemic, plastic waste was also the top find among coast pollutants.
It will take a long time for us to slide down the list but we should do something quicker than usual to reduce our contribution to plastic pollution at sea.
A massive information campaign is in order to make more Filipinos realize the ill effects of plastic pollution to marine life, which is vital to our daily food supply and intake.
This requires inter-agency and multi-media commitment, in all fronts at all times, not just for a certain period or season.
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This week, my favorite evening radio program, HAVEN TODAY over DYVS is running a five-episode series themed “Giving Hope – in Ukraine”. The series airing is timed with the first anniversary of the Ukraine war – on Feb. 24.
On the week of the anniversary, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of Western leaders of nuclear attack is they intervene in the conflict.
So frightening a warning, indeed, considering the multifarious global impact of the Russian invasion, which had been earlier anticipated by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as one bringing “an abundance of pain, filth, blood and death.”
The UN Commission on Human Rights placed the civilian death toll in Ukraine at 7,109, including about 450 children, with nearly 12,000 others injured. Other reports estimate the number of fatalities at 10,000.
Consider also the additional gnawing figures:
– Almost 8,500 missile and air attacks were launched by Russia in the past year.
– About 87,000 war crimes were registered against Ukrainians.
– Nearly 18 million Ukrainians were reported in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
– About 14 million of them have been displaced from their homes.
Adding to the human devastation are Western estimates of 60,000 deaths among Russian soldiers and more than 13,000 Ukrainian troopers. Including those wounded, the numbers are estimated as 180,000 for the Russians and 100,000 on the side of Ukraine soldiers.
Haven Today host Charles Morris’ five-part series includes a Ukrainian couple’s prayer -anchored on hope- for their country and Russia and the rising hope amid dark times particularly for millions who abandoned their homes for safety.
The Rock of Refuge is the focus of the third episode while the fourth discusses God’s love and care for the vulnerable.
The final episode reminds listeners that in the valley of darkness, fear is all over, but “thankfully our Good Shepherd walks with us and helps us fear no evil.”
As we continue our prayers for Ukraine, let us always remember the message of hope, which Haven Today reiterated, as we strengthen our faith and love of God and others.
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Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident… I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:1-3, 13-14) – NWI
