Protect environment, activists tell government | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online.

By ELLALYN B. DE VERA, The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online
January 25, 2012

  MANILA, Philippines — Climate justice advocates appealed to the government to stop destructive activities that directly affect the environment as they commemorated Wednesday the 40th day of the devastation wrought by tropical storm “Sendong” (international name: Washi) in various areas in Visayas and Mindanao.

Members of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) massed in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) central office in Quezon City and offered candles and prayers for the victims of the flash flood in Mindanao last December.

In Filipino Catholic tradition, deceased people traverse the natural and supernatural worlds for 40 days before going to eternal life.

Over a thousand people were killed when “Sendong” ravaged portions of Northern Mindanao last Dec. 17, affecting more than 1.1 million Filipinos, with more than 600 injured and almost 200 missing in 815 villages in 57 towns and eight cities in 13 provinces.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), “Sendong’s” damage to property was estimated at P1,633,283,487, including P1,360,335,647 in infrastructure and P272,974,840 in agriculture.

Moreover, students from the University of the Philippines (UP) Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), De La Salle University (DLSU) and Eulogio Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) also conducted a candle lighting ceremony to commemorate the 40th day of “Sendong.”

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