Sta. Barbara town controls use, sale of plastic bags

ILOILO CITY, Philippines - Officials of Sta. Barbara town in Iloilo has started implementing the newly approved municipal ordinance that regulates the use of plastic bags as packing or bagging material.

Vice Mayor Rodulfo Delgado said Tuesday that the ordinance will be enforced in the town's public market, supermarkets, grocery and retail stores.

Delgado said the ordinance is intended to limit if not totally eliminate the use of plastic bags in the town.

The ordinance requires vendors to use paper or cloth bags, buri bags or bayong and other non-plastic materials like sacks and sturdy reusable shopping bags, and biodegradable plastics and other containers instead of plastic bags as packing and bagging materials.

It also encourages the placing of bulky goods in paper boxes or cartons or other biodegradable bagging materials.

Delgado added that the ordinance intends to prohibit the sale, distribution, or delivery of non-biodegradable plastic bags or similar items in any establishments within the municipality of Sta. Barbara.

However, establishments that have previously printed or acquired volumes of non-biodegradable plastic bags are given three months from effectivity of the measure to utilize or dispose of the materials.

complete story here

-Sunstar Iloilo

Somewhere over Jason's Rainbow

Oh Em Gee! I just heard Jason Castro sang somewhere over the rainbow! Gees, it was melting hot, truly unique and musically incline. I was like lying on a Maui beach sipping lemonade listenin' to it. The last version I heard was I think 20 years ago when all I can understand was just the word "rainbow" in it. Duh, whatever, just listen to Jason's up-down-up-down-pause strumming of the ukulele and he will bring you back to the memory lane. Btw, I already predicted Jason Castro will win in the competition in my previous entries. So, please stop shouting Sanjaya, opps! I mean David Archuleta!



Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Once in a lullaby ii ii iii
Somewhere over the rainbow
Blue birds fly
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Dreams really do come true ooh ooooh
Someday I'll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me ee ee eeh
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops thats where you'll find me oh
Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
And the dream that you dare to,why, oh why can't I? i iiii

Well I see trees of green and
Red roses too,
I'll watch them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Well I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white
And the brightness of day
I like the dark and I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people passing by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying, I...I love you
I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,
They'll learn much more
Than we'll know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world (w)oohoorld

Someday I'll wish upon a star,
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney top that's where you'll find me
Oh, Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
And the dream that you dare to, why, oh why can't I? I hiii ?

What You Can Do To Stop It?

Five Things We Can All Do

• Join StopGlobalWarming.org. Together our voices will be heard!
• Spread the word, share the learning. Send this link to family, friends, and colleagues. Share why this is so important.
• Change begins at home. (See our Action Items list)
• Put the heat on your elected officials to support legislation to stop global warming.
• The power of the pocketbook; buy green products and donate to environmental organizations.

What is Global Warming?

The Earth as an ecosystem is changing, attributable in great part to the effects of globalization and man. More carbon dioxide is now in the atmosphere than has been in the past 650,000 years. This carbon stays in the atmosphere, acts like a warm blanket, and holds in the heat — hence the name ‘global warming.’

The reason we exist on this planet is because the earth naturally traps just enough heat in the atmosphere to keep the temperature within a very narrow range - this creates the conditions that give us breathable air, clean water, and the weather we depend on to survive. Human beings have begun to tip that balance. We've overloaded the atmosphere with heat-trapping gasses from our cars and factories and power plants. If we don't start fixing the problem now, we’re in for devastating changes to our environment. We will experience extreme temperatures, rises in sea levels, and storms of unimaginable destructive fury. Recently, alarming events that are consistent with scientific predictions about the effects of climate change have become more and more commonplace.

taken here

The Battle Inside of Me

“Where is your generosity, Lord? Why did You do to me what You did to Job? Will I never have another chance in this life? Give me one more opportunity!”

He got up, opened the Bible at random, as he usually did when he was searching for an answer, and he came upon the passage during the Last Supper when Christ tells the traitor to hand Him over to the Roman soldiers looking for him. The priest spent hours thinking what he had just read: why did Jesus ask the traitor to commit a sin? “So that the scriptures would be fulfilled,” the wise men of the church would say. Even so, why was Jesus was asking someone to commit a sin and thus leading him to eternal damnation? Jesus would never do that; in truth, the traitor was merely a victim, as Jesus himself was. Evil had to manifest itself and fulfill its role, so that ultimately Good could prevail. If there was no betrayal, there could be no cross, the words of the Scriptures would not be fulfilled, and Jesus sacrifice could not serve as an example. “Evil needs to manifest itself, for them to understand the value of Good.”

quoted from Paulo Coelho’s “The Devil and Ms Prym”

The passage really struck me in the face, the same thing I did every time I’m searching for an answer and the same question that never ceases to fascinate me was asked “Why did Jesus ask Judas to do such a thing?” Although I did not totally agree with the answer suggested by the author but he successfully keep my heads up at the ceiling trying to contemplate the necessity of the situation. But one thing I learn, Evil needs to manifest itself, for me to understand the value of Good. For by nature I am evil but by the grace of God I became good. Deep inside my restless heart lays a waging battle between evil and good. I know I can’t flee from the enemy but I can resist it. I know I can’t resist temptation but I can flee from it. No matter how evil I am, the Blood of the Lamb is enough. Now the Light is slowly overshadowing the darkness that I was once where. Now I can confidently smile over temptations and circumstances that threaten my faith. It was all by the grace that God hath spread.

Keep the faith, no matter what. Fight the good fight, it is all worth it.

The Drama Behind Those Pretensions

I’m the melodrama type of person masking in hilarity and mirth. The type that find it easier to grin than explain to people who won’t understand anyway. You know, hiding an emotion is probably the habit that I mastered over the past few years. And trying to infect it on someone at least in this blog is very satisfying even if deep within me is struggling to hide the reality of it. Just call it plain personal diversion or my own version of tequila and nicotine.

As a middle child, I developed the nobody-cares-why-bother mentality, the its-your-lost-not-mine attitude. And if there’s a need to hide my disappointment the happy-mask is always ready in my backpack for it. Ready to play the masquerade that I so reluctantly made to make it looks like I was never affected. But things don’t always go as what they seem. Because the more I hide the more it becomes obvious. To make things even worst I become pretentious trying to be somebody that I’m not.

Last month I also learned something inevitable, something real, and something I need to chew over when my grandma died. I realized it’s hard to pull a smile when your face is pulling down. No mask can hide the melancholy of the tears that is flowing on my cheeks that time. No shame and pretensions can stop me from expressing what I feel inside. And when I woke up the next morning all I can remember were the tears and cries that wipes away those pretensions and turning it to something real.

No more happy-mask, no more melodrama, just a combination of it,haha.

Of Being Wise on "April Fool"

April will always be a special month for me. Boy, there’s a lot of reason for me to summarize in just one entry. And no, it’s not about the woofy goofy puppy love that until now I can’t get over with or any scrapbook worthy experience that I can remember. Neither April is my birth month since I was born one gloomy September afternoon. And it could never be an anniversary of something special since I am not married yet. Although April happens to be the month before my Mom’s birthday which I also consider special but then again it’s something deeper than that.

Incidentally, April was actually the month the world celebrate human foolishness. The “April Fool” month they called. The month I found out how foolish I am and then consider it a wise realization. The month I embrace new perspective and throw away the old one.

The month I consider special.

Okay, it is not what you’re thinking right now. And I’m no April fool or whatever. It’s the month I take Christianity on a whole new level. Consider it foolishness or something to that effect but that’s the way it is.

Hello, I’m not planning to follow Mother Teresa neither aiming for sainthood or whatever. I was just trying to live to its certain expectation. I’m not perfect I admit although I’m trying to be one and sin is still an issue that I’m having a hard time to understand.

April will always remind me of a new life and a new birth, of redemption and deliverance, of His unfailing love and abiding grace. And I will always believe, hope, trust and love because of Him.

Jealous Conversation

I love talking to my cousin through YM during my lazy Saturday afternoon or when I find it a sufficient excuse in not doing my laundry after my Sunday rituals. Yes you heard it right; I do my laundry most of the time. But I don’t want to talk about it. It’s my cousin’s amusing way of conversation. She just makes every boring topic a little interesting. We literally talk about almost everything from her boyfriend’s soiled blue-shirt to her hairy “askal” puppy. It seems every topic is worthy of an Oprah Winfrey show even if it doesn’t make any sense at all. Laughs!

Yesterday we had an interesting conversation turn argument that took almost two hours. This time it wasn’t about her “askal” puppy neither her boyfriend but it was something a little personal and quite alarming. It was about her cat’s jealousy to her puppy. By the way she has a 2-month old cat I teasingly called “hello-kitty”. She found the cat abandoned in front of their gate very dirty so she took care of it. It was so cute and cuddly at first but after few weeks it become so violent that it pushes her puppy away with its sharp fingernail. Maybe animals get jealous too, she told me. Huh? Why would they be jealous and why the hell you’re being bothered by that cat. Weather it’s jealous or not, animals are animals. They are freaking violent in nature, I told her. But she reacts purely absurd which I don’t dare retort back. However the conversation continues with a little argument, a little high-school biology and anything in between.

I remember my mom brought my cousin to our house when I was still in my short pant playing lego that hesitation slowly crawling up my face. Hesitation of something I don’t even understand that time. I felt uncertain the moment she arrive, uncertain of my mom’s attention that she might steal away from me. No, I don’t have attention-deficit-disorder and I was never a “ksp” when I was a child.

I was actually jealous.

As a jealous little brat, I acquired that it-is-all-about-me attitude, the kind that competes for everyone’s attention. The kind that behaves violently when being threatened and cry like a baby to emotionally sabotage someone’s affection.

I became her constant adversary and I made her life miserable. But the more I pushed her the more she gets my mom’s attention, the more I get jealous.

You see, jealousy can bring the worst out of us. We may not be like the cat showing up its sharp fingernail, but our ulterior motives reveals more than that. Unless we take the extra mile to think of others than ourselves; we will still be the same person the rest of our lives. It was so funny how a simple conversation could dig out my past and reminds me today on how to live my future.

Mga Saloobin Ng Isang Gamo Gamong Alipin

Pag minalas ka nga naman, dalawang pares ng kaliwang tsinelas ang sumalubong sayo sa bughaw na langit na umiiyak pakiwari may sinasabing may bukas na naghihintay. Napaisip at namulat sa walang hanggang kalyeng kelangang lakarin patungo sa gusaling bumubuhay sa aking kamalayan bilang manggagawa. Pero isang baso ng sandok at dalawang plato ng kutsara ang nag iwan sa aking kumukulong sikmura para talikuran ang realidad ng kahapon na nagbabadyang may unos pang darating. Kung ano man yun, may pagbabagong kelangan harapin at mga bagay na di maiiwasan para madatnan ang dapat kalagyan sa tamang oras at panahon.

Umaambon, umuulan, tila walang katapusan. Luntian na araw at basang mga dahon tila parang kelan lang. Walang tigil ang unos sa pusong pahapyaw na nasasaktan. Bat' ba to nagkaganito? ito ba ang buhay? bat kba' umiiyak? bat mo ba pinipilit abutin ang mga tala na pilit lumalayo sa'yo. Dapithapon na, unti unting nabubulag ang kapaligiran patungo sa natutulog na gabi, di man lang nakausap.

Ika tatlumpot pitong gabi ng nakatitig sa teleponong walang kable, naghihintay ng sagot. Tatlong araw at isang oras ang lumipas pa, hanggang kelan ba? O maghihintay p ba? Andyan ka p ba? Nauuhaw sa isang dipang balon'g ikaw ang nagbibigay ng liwanag. Para akong isang aninong di mo nakikita't di mo napapansin. parang hangin na pilit dumadampi sa iyong mga pisnging umiiwas. Gusto kung pumasok sa puso mong kinandado ng baluktot at makitid na pag iisip. Pano b kung wala ka? May umaga pa kaya? Di ko ata kaya mabuhay sa mundong di umaaraw ah.

Alipin ka man ng pagkakataon at nakagapos sa kahapon..

Wala ka ng magagawa kundi tanggapin ang kamalasang, minsa'y sumasabay sa ikot ng buhay kaya kanta ka na lang at sumabay,

'waitin tomorrow.. there's a blue sky'