Indeed, Cebuanos want a one Cebu, however

Kudos to our beloved eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal for his due diligence in getting the undisputed facts and figures that indeed, more Cebuanos favor a one united Cebu rather than have if broken into small fiefdoms ruled by ugly and greedy politicians. Because he has no political ambitions, his faithful flock responded positively to the survey conducted by the various parishes in those areas so that the truth has really come out.

However, let me warn you that it might be a different story during the referendum in those areas because those ugly politicians might resort to the tried and tested tactics that they have always known… vote buying. Yes, if you're dying to become the 1st governor of those planned provinces as you are no longer able to hold on to your Congressional seat, chances are, you would start your vote buying campaign this early.

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A couple of weeks ago, a landslide in the sleepy town of Jagna, Bohol, caused mostly by the soil made soft by the long period of rain. This reminds me of an earlier disaster that happened in Panaon Island off the southernmost tip of Leyte, which caused a lot of death and destruction. Well, it turned out that the solution to these problems lie within our midst… by using coconuts for erosion control, which they call "Coconets."

I found this out when I was asked by friends to go into the Internet and vote for Coconets as this soil erosion control program has been chosen as one of the 12 finalists in Newsweek and BBC's (British Broadcasting Corporation) World Challenge. The World Challenge is basically a competition/search designed at identifying groups or individuals all over the world whose projects have contributed great impact at grass roots level.

Back in 1995, Agricultural engineer Justino Arboleda opened a company called Juboken Enterprise where he used waste coconut husks to combat soil erosion because the husks acted like tree roots to hold the soil together. Coconut husks are nothing but the waste product of the coconut juice that we all love to drink. In fact, one can see how many people drink them in Cebu because of the mountain of coconut husk that we always see in a market corner waiting for the garbage trucks to throw into the sanitary landfill. Instead of throwing this to the sanitary landfill where they would take a lot of space, why not use them on the slopes of the Transcentral Highway?

The company makes nets that act as surrogate tree roots by holding loose soils together. Joboken's coconut plantations provide the fiber. The nets are made from waste coconut husks, an eco-friendly solution to a developing eco-disaster. The "coconets" were rapidly taken up throughout the Philippines, and Arboleda began to develop other uses for the different waste products generated on his coconut farms. These included doormats, stuffing for car seats and mattresses, and fertilizer suitable for organic farms.

But the flagship product is still going strong. Coconets are now being produced at a rate of 30,000 square metres per month for markets throughout the world. This success has improved the lives of more than 1,500 families in the Philippines, earning each family an additional income of around US$5 dollars a day. Arboleda was honored by Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) in 2004 who presented Juboken Enterprise with a special award. Let's hope he wins this World Challenge.

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Doesn't anybody obey traffic rules anymore like road markings? Indeed, driving in Cebu is quite an experience. Both drivers of private and public transportation don't even know what a yellow solid line is for. Atty. Rosendo T. Brillantes wrote me a note, complaining about an incident last Aug. 17th where buses, one with license plate no. GWC-226 with a number 46 marked on its body and another bus with plate no. GWU-543 and a closed cargo van with plate no. GTW-880 went on the other side of the roadway pass the solid yellow line at around 8:15 AM and went against oncoming traffic whose drivers had to swerve to avoid instant death!

Two days later, on Aug. 19th, another bus, this one bound for Carcar with plate no. GWJ-152 did exactly the same thing. It took some time for this information to get to me is because Atty. Brilliantes mailed it to me from the Post Office. I'm sure that this problem happens everyday and violated by so many buses. The reason for that is simply, because they can get away with it. Atty. Brilliantes also sent a copy to the LTO whose operatives called me as they were looking for him. At this point, I hope that those drivers get suspended for reckless endangerment. Driving against traffic poses grave danger to other motorists. In my book, it is almost like attempted murder!

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila's columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com