Article III (National Power Crisis)

Power crisis is one of the most serious issues of present times which had weaken smooth operation of industrial activities in the country. It is any great blockage in the supply of energy causes in the economy. It often refers to one of energy sources used at a certain time and place.

The main cause of power crisis is because there is a worldwide shortage of coal so that we cannot generate enough electricity. With the coal-powered generating plants unable to produce enough electricity, the other plants using hydro, thermal, diesel and wind won’t be able to cover up the shortage. Also the cause may be over use or aging transportation that restrict power supply. A crisis can develop due to industrial actions like union organized strikes and government restriction.

This summer we’re going to experience brownouts; we don’t know what day or hour but we need to be prepared anytime. In some places in Metro Manila, they are now experiencing brownouts and yes, some of them are very irritated because of the weather. But some are trying to be cool because they can save on electricity; men’s are taking off their shirts while women’s are having their fans to make air. At night, they can use candles for their lights, though it can cause fire but taking care is the best thing to do.

In different areas in Mindanao experiencing brownouts ranging from one to eight hours per day. They need an additional generating capacity of 2,500 megawatts from 2009 to 2030 for its power supply shortage. Mindanao has the biggest problem in electricity in the country. They relied on hydro facilities to produce more than half of the power requirements. The needed demand on their island is 2,200 megawatts while the available was only 863 megawatts.

In 1995, the transmission and distribution losses in the country were estimated at 7.2 percent. As reported by the power plants, losses are estimated from the difference between energy produced and energy sold to end consumers. The difference between what is produced and what is consumed constitute transmission and distribution losses.

In recent years, the most significant event in the Philippine energy industry was the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001. After seven years of congressional debate and litigation, the Act came into force on June 26, 2001. The act has three main objectives, the first one is to develop indigenous resources: the second is to cut the high cost of electric power in the Philippines; and the third is to encourage foreign investment. It’s their enterprises.

The EPIRA required the National Power Corporation or Napocor to break its vertically incorporated belongings in a small group such as generation, transmission, distribution and supply to prepare the eventual privatization. And the government also will sell off its share of Meralco, a vital distribution utility on the island of Luzon that serves Manila and the immediate surrounding area by buying power from various Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

Napocor will need to transfer its existing power purchase obligations to private distributors, and also to renegotiate high-priced contracts. The cost savings lie in the fact that private distributors will likely be unwilling to enter into agreements that are above market rates. There are other financial incentives for the government as well. Napocor's $23 billion in debt and $9 billion in power purchase agreements are invalid, and the government must already contribute $300 million per year to keep Napocor afloat. In order to make the sale of Napocor more attractive to investors, the government has captivated a significant amount of Napocor's debt. In addition, the $9 billion in power purchase agreements with IPPs also will be sold off. After many delays, the Philippine government plans to make another attempt at privatization in March 2006.

The electricity demand in the Philippines is expected to grow by around 9% per year through the end of the decade, requiring as much as 10,000 MW of new installed electric capacity. Due to its geography, the Philippines have problems linking all of its larger islands together into one grid and ensuring availability of electric power in rural areas. The government has set a target date of 2006 for full electrification, and also is taking steps to link together the country's three major power grids (Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao).

Article II (Peace and Progress in Mindanao)

“Mindanao is a land of promise,” said the Dean of College of International Relations of Lyceum of the Philippines University and Ambassador Rey Arcilla in the GNN show “Talk to Harry” hosted by Mr. Gil Santos. It is entitled “Peace and Progress in Mindanao.”

Mindanao is the poorest place in Philippines in terms of livelihood. The main problems of them are transportation, source, money and lack of healthy foods. Some of the children are not studying because of the expenses. Some of the people are working outside the country but it looks like we are leaving our responsibilities as a Filipinos. According to Amb. Arcilla, what happens in Mindanao affects the whole country. Because we can’t separate the fact that Mindanao is part of Philippines and part of lumads and other minorities. It beholds its responsibilities for aspiring candidates.

The only thing they have is their “guns”, to avoid poverty. So they resort of kidnapping and other bad doings. It is their way to have food for their family even if they have no future for this wrong doings.

The candidates for election are helping Mindanao to sustain the activities on some areas. But in some cases, we must think of them who will be the greatest to have a place in the congress. If we just go by the survey, it’ not fair. We should think wise.

“I believe that the ultimate way to effectively address armed conflicts in Mindanao is by reaching a political settlement with rebel groups, achieved through careful but in the end, essentially rewarding peace negotiations,” The Government’s peace negotiator Secretary Jesus Dureza said.

The Americans are showing some interests in Mindanao. But why they are? Because the Americans wants a military base in Mindanao but they can’t with the Philippine government because they kicked out of here by the senate. It’s coincidental by Mt. Pinatubo eruption.

"If you want change, you have to demand it, and change begins with you. You have to ask yourself what is your role. If change is to happen, it must be up to us," Bagumbayan Party Presidentiable Candidate Sen. Richard Gordon said during the Panaghisgut-hisgut Mindanao Presidential Forum at the Ateneo de Davao University. He was called on the Mindanaoans to take part and be involved in the process of change if they want to achieve peace and progress in Mindanao.

Gordon is a co-author and sponsor of the proposed Mindanao Economic Development Authority (MEDA) Act, which would primarily carry out economic and social reforms in Mindanao to ensure the growth and development that the island deserves.

The Mindanao Peace and Progress Foundation has a values that they want the people to know.The first is the Vision. It says, “We shall be a respected institution that is dedicated to help in building a prosperous and peaceful Mindanao. We shall be a reliable partner in achieving cultural and financial wealth for the people in Mindanao.” The second is their Philosophy, “The most effective way of achieving Peace in Mindanao is to build a strong economy in the area and a strong economy can only be built by a vibrant, highly motivated, and well trained people.” And the last is their Main Mission, “To ensure that all residents of Mindanao, especially our Muslim brothers, will have an access to high quality education, training, and experience which are all necessary to make them successful and their individual success will collectively bring Progress and Peace to Mindanao.”

The personal thing that we can do is to help them by praying to make the Peace in Mindanao be forever and to stop the poverty that their experiencing right now.

Article I (Biodiversity)

Biodiversity is the variation of life form within a given ecosystem, biome or on the entire earth. It is also define as the variety of species, their genetic make-up, and the natural communities in which they occur. It is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems. Raymond F. Dasmann, a wildlife scientist and conservationist was the one who first used the term that was not widely adopted for more than a decade. In the 1980’s, “biodiversity” came into common usage in science and environmental policy. It comes from the words “biological” and “diversity” that combined together and defined the same.

Biological diversity or biodiversity can have many explanations and it is most commonly used to change the more plainly defined and long established terms, species diversity and species richness. “Totality of genes, species, and ecosystem of a region”, it is the Biologists definition for biodiversity because there is an advantage of it that seems to describe most situation and present a unified vision of the usual three levels at which biological variety has been identified. These are species diversity, ecosystem diversity, morphological diversity and genetic diversity.

It also supports a number of natural ecosystem processes and services. Ecosystem is defined as a community of the living organisms combined with their associated physical environment. Some ecosystem services that benefit society are air quality, climate, water purification, pollination and prevention on erosion.

Biodiversity provides foods for human. Although about 80 percent of our food supply comes from just 20 kinds of plants, humans need at least 40,000 species of plants and animals a day. Many people around the world depend on these kinds for their food, medicine, shelter, and clothing. There is available potential for increasing the variety of food products, provided that the high present loss rate can be stopped.

One of the key health issues related with biodiversity is that of drug discovery and the availability of medical wealth. There are 50 percent of the pharmaceutical compounds on the market in the US are derived from natural compounds found in plants, animals and microorganisms, while about 80 percent of the world population depends on medicines from nature for primary healthcare.

The recent phenomenon of global warming is also considered to be a major threat to global biodiversity. The coral reefs for example, which is biodiversity hotspots will lost in 20 to 40 years if global warming continues at the recent style. Coral reefs are useful to the environment and to people in a number of ways. However, all around the world, much of the world’s marine biodiversity face threats from human and activities as well as natural. It is feared that very soon, many reefs could die off. The small organisms called pelagic, needs oxygen that’s why they are living over water and not in too deep like what the big organisms are.

To prevent the biodiversity in danger, we have to be environmental and be protective to every situation. Don’t waste food, paper, fiber and any things that came from biodiversity. Save the things that is helpful to us and we can use for our daily routine. Also, peoples are needed to stop illegal logging because it’s a big lost for every life. Not only us humans but also the animals who are like us, their foods are from trees. We are losing plants and animals due to deforestation.

The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now devastating scientific compromise that it is happening. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are moving back. Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing end in weather patterns. Environmental issues are also a major global issue. Humans depend on a sustainable and healthy environment, and yet we have damaged the environment in numerous ways.

Biodiversity is very important to us because, it feeds the world, it heals and soothes and it protects all of us. It boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops, greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms; and healthy ecosystems can better survive and recover from a variety of calamities. And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife.

Biodiversity’s ecological services are very important to our everyday life. The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis by green plants. Insects, worms, bacteria, and other small organisms break down wastes and support in the decay of dead plants and animals to enrich soils. More than 90 percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species. Almost 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals, and many more are derived from these sources. Not a day, hour, or even second goes by that we do not depend on biodiversity for survival.