Ang busy ng buhay ko. Kitams? Ngayon lang ako nakapag-update ulit. Nakuuu..
Last November 18, nakasali ako sa finals ng DCWD cityewide oratorical contest.
Perteh nalang... Kasi naman, nakalimutan ko 'yung last word na binanggit ko, tapos ayun... blank.
Perteh... sayang... Eh di, walang award... Consolation lang.
Nung papababa na ako ng stage, inapproach ako nung timekeeper at sinabing, "CONGRATS! iKAW ang 4TH!"
Nah. PERRRTEH!
Ewan... Basta, parang ang saya ng feeling, tapos parang ang lungkot. Oo, 4th nga ako. Nagpapasalamat ako dun. Pero naman, perteh, 4th pa talaga. Isa nalang, magkakamedal na. Nagkamali kasi ako sa huli-->sa HULI pa talaga! Nakuuu...
Tapos, nung lumabas na ako sa venue ng contest, inapproach na naman ako ng isang babae, "congRATS! did you know that you were the 4th?!"
As in... hindi ko maexplain kung anong nararamdaman ko. Parang ang sayang... parang ang saya na nakakalungkot... Haaay.
Pero kahit ganun, proud na proud parin 'yung mga sumusuporta sa'kin. Salamat kay Mare at Pare. Kay coach na si mam faith. Kay Ciara. Sa THE FORCE. Sa Neutron. Sa BATCH 2k6... Sa schoolmates. Sa teachers. Sa PISAy... Salamat sa inyong lahat. Lampas-langit ang pasasalamat ko sa inyo.
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At ito ang award-winning piece (waaahhahahahah):
WATER FOR YOU AND ME: HOW FAR CAN WE GO?
Water is for you, water is for me. You need water, I do too. But how dare we use it and not protect it? How dare we depend on it and not preserve it? How dare we kill the very thing that gives us life?
Water, H2O if you prefer, is the very entity that makes the world go round. It is the one that enables natural processes to occur, like evaporation to cloud the sun on a hot day, rain to quench the plants, substance to rejuvenate the human body, molecule to neutralize the toxins. However, this is not all. Water does far more than these.
Water is life. While people can survive without food for weeks, it is impossible for us to survive more than a week without water. The survival of every living thing in nature relies on water. Water is the binding agent of the world. Tell me, how did we come in contact with the world before? Wasn't it through travel in water? Tell me, of all the things that we ingest throughout the world, what is the most essential thing that we put into our mouths? Isn't it water? Tell me, what is the medium that connects our different islands? Water, right? And lastly, tell me what we use to make sandcastles to gladden up our childish hearts? Yes, it's water. Water is a universal matter. Water is the one that connects all the sands of the world; be it black, white or brown, to make a castle of aspirations, of hopes, of success. Dreamy, isn't it? But a quick step from reality crashes you directly back to our world.
Why? What is our water situation? The United Nations Population Fund predicts that by the year 2025, two-thirds of the world's population of 6.5 billion people will suffer from shortages of fresh water for drinking. In a recent report by the Washington based World Resource Institute, the world's thirst for water is likely to become one of the most pressing issues of the twenty-first century. More than that, our country is now facing a looming disaster of water crisis. The International Institute of Rural Reconstruction confirmed that there is a water crisis in the Philippines, "one of the wettest countries in Southeast Asia." The water dilemma, therefore, lies not in supply but in water distribution and sanitation.
It's just that some of our countrymen do not have access to water, be it safe or not. Water exigency is more apparent in Manila where ten million people live. For most of them, sallying after water everyday has been their agony for years. Why? First, they cannot afford water. Second, they cannot trust the cleanliness of our rivers and streams. Just look at the Pasig river for example. No one would even dare to take a plunge in it because the water's too dark, and too dirty for one's consumption.
Going further down the microscope, we come to our very own city, Davao. The city whose citizens are blessed with safe, clean, and abundant waters. So safe, that we tend to take it for granted, so clean that we abuse it, so abundant that we waste it, so blessed that we neglect the future generations.
However, a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency showed that by the year 2015, Davao City will be 28% short of water supply. OUr city is clearly awaiting an impending doom, one that the nation's capital is now experiencing. Now, where will that leave us?
Then here comes the matter of banana and pineapple plantations. These ecologically disatrous activities contaminate our water reserves. In Davao, where many lands are converted to banana and pineapple plantations, fertilizer residues from these plantations are drained to the rivers. This may eventually cause a lethal effect called euthrophication or excessive algae formation killing the living organisms in the water, and thus triggering the release of toxins in the water. Again, the imperious question, what will happen to us?
YES! These are major problems. It is not our depleting water resources, it is not our polluted waters, it is not our limited water access. But it is indeed about our negligence, our overconfidence, our ingraitude. But all is not lost--no, not yet.
Water is and never will be solely a problem of the government. "I have far better things to do, I have problems of my own, let the government handle it." No. It is a problem that concerns us all. All of us utilize it. All of us benefit from it. All of us are consumers of water.
We are the youth. We are the future of this country and we will not fail it. Though our capabilities be limited, though our scope and influence is not vast, but little by little, we will pave the way for the future of our waters. How? Three E's: Empathy, Enthusiasm, and Execution. Feel for the water. Feel fot the future. Feel the need and think, "Can I bear the thought of having polluted water in the future? Will I allow this to continue? What can I do?" Have we thought or did we even care about it? If we did, have we shown enthusiasm or were we responsible enough to prevent the worst from happening? What could have hindered us from doing so?
The name of the hindrance is passivity, indolence. A small but relevant first step is needed for the transition of principle to action. It is not enough to be aware. To translate our awareness into action is a major leap.
We shall let that passion compel us to act. Let us join organizations whose aim is to protect our water reserves. Campaign for water conservationa and protection in school, at home, wherever you are! Each one of us can do it. We can do it. All of us can do it.
If the youth can do it, how much more the leaders of this country? Of course they can, and they must. Saving the waters is a concerted effort. No person can do it alone. Therefore, all should act, starting from the highest authority to the lowest sectors of society. They can pass bills for the preservation of our waters and strictly implement it among the citizens. They should conduct information campaigns to help people realize what they can do, and explore possible preventive and curative measures to save our waters for tomorrow, for today.
In other words, you, me, all of us must act and altogether become heroes. So tell me dear audience, how far are we willing to go? As I take it, our presence here shows that we understand the urgency to actively involve ourselves in saving our water, our resource. Our presence here shows that our waters still have hope, that our country can survive, and that there is still tomorrow, for our water, for our world, for us.
So friends, I leave you with this incitement: how far can we go from here? Well, if we believe that water is life, we need not wait for the time when we see ourselves fighting over a drop of water.
Let us protect life. Let us save water.
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