Development and the challenges behind it

Over the weekend, I was at Phillip’s Sanctuary in Sitio Panlilingan, Antipolo as part of a coverage for my work (as we are going to feature them). Upon my visit to the place, I was impressed at the fact that man-made forests do exist in a metropolis where the focus is more on creating more buildings, giving less focus to the environment. Aside from being designed as a place for team building, complete with various obstacle courses which are based on the exercises done by US military, Phillip’s Sanctuary can be also classified as a protected reserve with the number of trees and plants that can be found inside the compound. In fact, Felipe Pestaño, the father of Ensign Philip Pestaño, has amassed these plants from abroad. Philip is the navy officer who was found dead in his quarters at BRP Bacolod City two decades ago, of which his case is still being investigated for murder. Felipe, an agriculturist, made sure that Phillip’s sanctuary, which is a part of their farm, is adorned with a variety of plants and trees for both livelihood and educational purposes. *Some sights inside Phillip’s Sanctuary. How I wish others follow the same model as well. While touring around the place with the number of trails you can choose from within the area, I noticed at how relatively untouched the area has been, until we reached the edge of the unchartered trail (which is not part of the Pestaño farm but owned by the Ongs, as Ate Emma told us while we were walking through one of the trails). I was quite disturbed with what I saw, as the area, which is opposite the golf course of Valley Golf, has been heavily denuded and quarried such as the bedrock is already exposed and that there are barely any trees in the area. *Some photos of the heavily denuded area which I was mentioning, though there are still a few trees left With what I saw, I asked Ate Emma what do the owners plan to do with the area, and she could not give a concrete answer. I asked what happens when it rains, she said landslides and floods do occur in the area, which is pretty expected for a heavily denuded portion of a mountain that is part of the Sierra Madre range. Adding to my worries to what I saw, such heavily denuded portion along San Mateo and Antipolo does pose threats to a flood-prone Marikina, which experienced a brunt of nature’s wrath during typhoon “Ondoy” back in 2009. Which brings me to my concerns regarding developing our country’s lands. Sure Pres. Noynoy Aquino can brag about the economic progress of the country, complete with a very positive GDP growth, but the bigger question is on whether we properly utilize that growth for developing our country. For one, I do not get the point on why we build condominiums and malls here and there, and not put emphasis on the importance on environmental sustainability and build important structures such as hospitals and school instead. Honestly, I have seen a bunch of condominiums around Metro Manila and I do not think those buildings get fully occupied, given the costs of each unit. The Philippines’ forte is on agriculture, and yet our country fails to utilize this particular quality of the country, leading to massive exploitation of natural resources, placing parts of the country at risk for natural disasters. Phillip’s Sanctuary, which Felipe recounts is essentially his son’s vision that was fulfilled after he was murdered, is one of the few places that placed importance to the environment while providing a place that is enjoyable as well. APEC 2015 is coming pretty soon, and I hope we get to discuss the importance of sustainable development and not focus too much on condominiums and malls. The Philippines has a vast potential, and the challenge is to properly utilize the country’s assets properly. With all the previous natural disasters that hit the country, it is time that we should rethink the way we develop the Philippines.

A month with the new chapter.

Time does fly, and things have changed early on in 2015. I have started the new chapter in my life, from being a news archives cataloger to a section editor for lifestyle. From Technical Operations to Digital Media. From Media Asset Management Department to Digital Content Publishing. From being a mere consultant (translation: not an official employee) to a probationary employee (on the way to being a regular employee once I get to prove myself worthy enough in the coming months).

Even my working environment has changed drastically, so did my friends in the office. I do still have a couple of friends (and sadly, a couple of fouled-up relationships and enemies) in my office and I still manage to talk to them. It has been a month starting off with this new chapter and I am slowly getting a hand at things in the new office.

Honestly though, my current work is more than being a section editor: aside from writing articles daily, attending events, and interviewing people, my boss also took me in charge in managing the company’s advertisements for some of its sites, and that my work is not limited to lifestyle alone (I also do some work for another site called Choose Philippines; yes I still work in the same company but in a different department this time). Translation: my multitasking levels have been multiplied in this new chapter. Like the famous Spider-Man quote, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I definitely accept the challenge, especially with my new boss having high expectations for me (how high? let’s just say my boss sees a potential in me for the future. That high.)

With the bigger responsibilities also comes bigger risks. The politics in the new office is way bigger (and as one of my new office friends would put it, it is dirtier), and that even if I have a couple of old friends working in this new department, I have to deal with a couple “untouchables”: meaning no matter how much I dislike them (thankfully majority of the people in the office are nice to me for now), I cannot just make any stupid or unnecessary move. I make one wrong move and that can screw up my career. In this new chapter, I definitely need to throw away my reckless habits because even if I am in good terms with everybody in the new office, only God knows when these people might possibly betray me. Still, I do hope that nothing bad will happen, especially I have a supervisor who has the same thought flow as I do. Yes, I am enjoying my new work, but at the same time I need to be extra cautious and extra mindful, as how my former boss (who I visit once in a while after work) would put it.

Speaking of new office friends: I dunno if it is coincidence or what but one of my new office friends happens to be someone I have a crush on (in short, there goes that kilig vibes again every time we get to talk, and it is quite more often than with my previous crushes). In addition, I happen to make friends with mostly girls and gays (in my clique, I am the only straight guy HAHAHA but I’m fine with it anyway). Well, the dominance of gays in the office is pretty much expected especially in the media industry as a good majority of creative people are from the LGBT community, which is why I have mad respect for them.

Right now, I could say that 2015 is shaping to be a much better year than last year. Also, I am thankful that my grandfather is getting stronger now after that major health scare a few weeks back (where he was at the brink of death again). My family may be occasionally unstable, but thankfully we still manage to be together no matter how tough the situation may be. Aside from my family, I am also happy at my overall well-being: For the first time in more than ten years (translation: high school days), my weight is now below 200 and I can feel the positive effects of losing around 30 pounds. Now if I can push that weight down to 180 (aka grade school days)…it may seem to be impossible, but if i managed to go back to my high school weight, everything is possible right now.

That’s all what is in my mind right now, and tomorrow is the second month in this new chapter. I definitely need to give my 110% everyday to prove my worth, and I know I can accomplish a lot for this year thanks to God.