assyriansage

Align. Beach. Meditate. Surf. Teach. Write. Yoga.

[assyriansage @assyriansage]

We’re fighting for #elyu’s beaches, turtles & marine life, the #environment, where we work, play & live. We need #LeniKiko2022 #TropangAngatAllTheWay so #GobyernongTapatAngatBuhayLahat can work w us vs #ClimateCrisis, #plasticpollution, etc. all over The #Philippines! #ElyuIsPink

[Philstar.com @PhilstarNews]

'KAYO ANG BOSS KO'

#OnThisDay in 2021, former president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III passed away due to renal disease secondary to diabetes. He was 61.

The former chief executive was known for his moves to raise the country's economy on par with its neighbors and in combatting government corruption.

[Sonny Trillanes IV @TrillanesSonny]

Ito yung political ad na nilabas namin nung 2016 campaign pero hinarang ng kampo ni duterte. Ngayon, alam nyo na ang epekto ng isang violent environment sa mga bata.

[assyriansage @assyriansage]

@lahingpnoy https://t.co/Tces5dZAuK

[radar PH @radarph_media]

PWEDE NAMAN PALA.

A viral social media contrast has been making the rounds, depicting Hanoi before and after planting 1.6 million trees. It is a stunning visual transformation—but more importantly, it shows that trees and concrete can co-exist in a third-world country. 

Between 2016 and 2020, the program "One Million Trees" was rolled out and Hanoi smashed it two years ahead of schedule, ultimately planting over 1.6 million trees across the capital. 

The success was so profound that it paved way into a nationwide "One Billion Trees" initiative running through 2025.

Hanoi's victory is a lesson in progressive urban development for the Philippines. Both are fast-growing Southeast Asian countries caught at the crossroads of rapid growth, dense populations, and extreme climate vulnerability. The difference is not in resources, but rather in political imagination. 

While Manila allows the removal of mature tree canopies for expressways, Hanoi demonstrated that true 21st-century progress builds with nature, treating the urban canopy as critical public infrastructure.

So what can we learn from Hanoi’?

First, we need to move from seedling statistics to living canopies. The DENR allows developers to offset environmental damage by buying thousands of cheap seedlings, a numbers game that does nothing to cool a sweltering city. Hanoi turned down this lazy formula. 

They planted mature, standard saplings that had been chosen for their ability to trap dust and absorb carbon dioxide. Vietnam's policy is that every tree must survive, and it supports it with budgets for years of rigorous post-care. We plant for the cameras and let saplings die in the sun. Hanoi plants to shield the public.

Second, Hanoi eliminated the fragmented planning that plagues our bureaucracy. In Manila, the DPWH builds a road, utility companies dig it up, and trees are felled because they are “in the way." Hanoi integrated its tree-planting directly into transport networks and underground utility blueprints. If an infrastructure design threatens the green grid, the blueprints are adjusted. In the Philippines, the living infrastructure is sacrificed to keep the concrete straight.

Third, Vietnam depoliticized its green spaces. Philippine urban forestry is a hostage to the three-year local election cycle. One mayor plants a pocket park; the next paves over it for a multipurpose gym bearing their name. Hanoi turned urban greening into a permanent civic duty, insulating it from political transitions and integrating it across schools, communities, and conglomerates.

We can no longer hide behind the developing nation moniker to justify the ecological vandalism of Metro Manila. Vietnam operates within our economic bracket, yet they chose to invest in a livable capital.

If we want to stop choking on our own progress, our national government must adopt Hanoi's playbook. 

We must legislate a strict minimum canopy cover per capita for LGUs, making it a metric for the Seal of Good Local Governance. We must mandate "avoidance engineering" in public-private partnerships, forcing designers to map transport links around existing natural assets. 

Finally, the DENR must end the seedling scam; developers must be held financially liable for the value of lost ecosystem services until replacement trees reach full maturity.

How do you find Hanoi’s cityscape? Share your comment below.

(By Walter C. Villa)

#radarPHLifestyle #radarPH

[Gnostic Legend @GnosticLegend]

Sad but True...

[assyriansage @assyriansage]

Sign the call for due process, impeachment, and constitutional accountability. https://t.co/4kZhQ1fmBt

[MajorCrush @CrushMajor]

Photo taken on the night of the May 2022 election.

Leni Robredo: “This is not the end. It is only the beginning.”

"[She] was right. It wasn't the end. It was the moment she became the standard by which we're now measuring every politician currently fighting for the spotlight."

[assyriansage @assyriansage]

@jclem3 @IntlCrimCourt

[DAVAOMIGRANT @nabunturanguy]

Ang ganda no? Twelve (12) years ng NAPAKATINONG gobyerno! Sarap pangarapin. Pero, libre mangarap di ba?

[@pauloinmanila and 99 others @pauloMDtweets]

May we #NeverForget the lessons that shaped our Democracy.

#EDSA40 #PeoplePower #NeverAgain

[Project Gunita @ProjectGunitaPH]

40 years ago today, we overcame a brutal dictator's tanks, weapons, and bombs with prayers, determination, and the undying will to be free.

Within 4 days, Ferdinand Marcos Sr's dictatorship crumbled under the weight of the People Power Revolution.

#EDSA40
#DefendHistoricalTruth

[Luke Espiritu @LukeEspirituPH]

Sa ika-40 anibersaryo ng People Power, makiisa sa pagkilos laban sa korapsyon at kahirapan!

Panagutin at singilin si Marcos!
Panagutin at singilin si Duterte!
Panagutin at singilin ang lahat ng sangkot sa mga kontrobersiyang siyang naglulugmok sa atin sa kahirapan!

[Project Gunita @ProjectGunitaPH]

Actual footage of Filipinos imploring soldiers to disobey Marcos Sr’s attack orders:

“Pilipino tayo! Di tayo dapat maglaban!”
“Sumama na kayo sa amin!”
“Mga Pilipino kayo!”
“Baba na kayo!”
“Bayan natin ito, bayan natin ito!”
#EDSA40
#DefendHistoricalTruth

[Barnaby Lo 吳宗鴻 @barnabychuck]

On Al Jazeera.

The Epstein scandal continues to reverberate globally. Emails released by the US Department of Justice, and as first reported by The Philippine Star, show the convicted sex offender hired a team in the Philippines to scrub online search results linked to his criminal record.

The revelations have thrown a spotlight on the country’s so-called online trolls – and their growing influence.

[Bloomberg @business]

Two incumbent Philippine senators were named “co-perpetrators” in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court https://t.co/YqS2SgtSRK

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Two sitting Philippine senators have been identified as "co-perpetrators" in former president Rodrigo Duterte‘s crimes against humanity trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC), documents released by prosecutors show ⤵️ https://t.co/3XQN2Sl7Xc

[LAHING 🇵🇭 PINOYℹ️ @lahingpnoy]

Hindi kagaya nung gunggong na Dutae na gawin na lang daw probinsiya ng China ang Pilipinas.
Sino ngayon ang may malasakit sa bansa.

[Kiko Pangilinan @kikopangilinan]

IPASA ANG INDEPENDENT PEOPLE’S COMMISSION!

Ini-sponsor at dinepensahan natin sa plenaryo ang agarang pagpasa ng Independent People's Commission (IPC) para papanagutin ang nasa likod ng pinakamalaking flood control corruption scandal sa ating kasaysayan.

Tiniyak natin na hindi pwedeng ma-weaponize o abusuhin ang IPC. May citizen participation, civil society, simbahan, eksperto, at dalawang miyembro mula sa pribadong sektor para siguraduhin na ang trabaho ay impartial, science-based, at hindi politikal.

Kasama rin sa panukala ang dalawang special prosecutorial teams mula sa Ombudsman at DOJ para walang ulit-ulit na fact-finding — diretso sa kaso, diretso sa pananagutan.

Ang taong-bayan ay atat na may managot.
Pera ng bayan ang nilustay — hustisya ang dapat isukli.

Hindi na pwedeng magtagal ang katotohanan.
Hindi na pwedeng maulit ang ganitong kalaking pagnanakaw.

Ipasa na ang Independent People's Commission! 🇵🇭

[Roentgen @ronaldgem]

Sulit na sulit talaga ang boto sa tatlong ito

[SPIRALSTAIRCASE..🎯 @Obi_Prodigalson]

Ang taong walang kasalanan buong tapang na hinarap ang mga akusasyon sa kanya.. Walang drama, walang wheelchair at walang neck brace.. Hindi nagdahilan na siya ay may karamdaman..

Ano Bato Dela Rosa,, sayang ang laki ng katawan mo.. puro hangin ang laman.. 😠😠