Aquino enlists students in fight vs pollution

President Benigno Aquino III on Monday urged students to help the government in its fight against pollution. Speaking at the 10th National Leaders Assembly of the Student Catholic Association of the Philippines (SCAP) in Manila, Aquino said one way of participating in the campaign is for students to boycott smoke belching public transportation vehicles, especially buses. “Kunyari tayo ay sumasakay ng public transportation, pag nakita nating itong sasakyan na ito ay hindi nakikisama sa lipunan at walang pakundangan magdagdag ng polusyon, baka pwede tayong maabala, huwag tayong sumakay doon," he said. (If we’re using public transportation and we see a smoke belching vehicle, I think it’s better that we don’t ride in that vehicle.) Aquino noted that 80 percent of the pollution in Metro Manila is caused by motorists or motor vehicles. No more stargazing He said because of the pollution, young people these days could hardly see stars when they look up the sky. “Nung more or less kaedad n’yo ako, merong kasabihan, ‘tumingin ka sa langit, pag nakita mo yun mga estrelya, malamang hindi uulan.’ Dito po sa Metro Manila kadalasan, tumingin ka sa langit, nawawala lahat ng estrelya," he told the students. (When I was more or less your age, it was said that when you look at the sky and you see that there are many stars, it means it will not rain. Today, especially here in Metro Manila, when you look up the sky, you seldom see stars.) Aquino blamed the problem to private-emission testing centers that, he said, give certification to vehicles that are not really complying with the Clean Air Act. Buses In highlighting his call to boycott smoke belching vehicles, Aquino noted that there are some 12,000 buses plying the routes in Metro Manila, but the passengers only need 3,600. “So dulo po niyan, talagang sila ang naghahanap ng pasahero versus tayo obligado sumakay sa kanila (That means they need us, and that we are not obliged to use them)," he said. Also during the same speech, Aquino reiterated his call for the public to vote through text messages Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) and help push the country’s bid for a spot in the search for the New Seven Wonders of Nature title. He noted that the Philippines has 80 million cell phones and one text vote for every cell phone user is really essential for the PPSRNP to win in the wonders of nature title. Puerto Princesa Underground River is one of the finalists competing with 28 other sites for the New 7 Wonders of Nature title. Aquino said the inclusion of the Puerto Princesa Underground River in the contest would boost tourism in the Palawan which, in turn, would help give livelihood to the people there. The PPSRNP, formerly St. Paul Subterranean National Park, is located at Sitio Sabang, Barangay Cabayugan, in the Midwest coast of Palawan and some 81 kilometers northwest of Puerto Princesa City. It is reputed to be the longest navigable underground river in the world at a length of 8.2 kilometers that winds through spectacular limestone formations before emptying out into the South China Sea. In 1999, the park was declared as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Natural World Heritage Site. It was also proclaimed “National Geological Monument" in the year 2003 by the National Committee on Geological Sciences. — KBK, GMA News