Kung Hei Fat Choi
- Published on Wednesday, 11 January 2012 14:03
- Category: Barangay Affairs
By Nerissa Bayan
There has been a significant Chinese presence in the Philippines even before the Spaniards arrived in the 15th century. Chinese Filipinos currently number four million, making up five percent of the Philippine population.
Chinese-Filipino traditions associated with the Lunar New Year includes the following: The food most fondly looked forward to during Chinese New Year in the Philippines is tikoy which is a treat made from sticky rice; red is the luckiest color, and everyone tries to dress in it and have red things all around; children expect to receive fresh peso bills inside bright red envelopes on which are written Chinese characters. These red envelopes are called hong bao in Mandarin or ang pao in Hokkien, the language used by Chinese Filipinos.
In the Hokkien language which most Chinese Filipinos speak, the Chinese New Year greeting is Kiong Hee Huat Tsai. To compare, the Cantonese version dominant in Hong Kong is Kung Hei Fat Choi and the Mandarin is Gong Xi Fa Cai. It means "Congratulations and Be Prosperous."
The first day of the 2012 Chinese New Year is on January 23, 2012 in China's time zone. This day is a new moon day, and is the first day of the first Chinese lunar month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar system. The exact new moon time is at 15:40 on 23-Jan-12 in China's time zone. Last Monday, during the city government’s flag raising ceremony, a launching of the Chinese New Year celebration was had which included a dragon dance and a recognition of the Chinese community in the city. Kung Hei Fat Choi to our Chinese brothers and sisters.
To start the year right, the members of the Balili River System Revitalization Coalition had an early forum held on January 10, 2012 at the BCPO Conference Hall. The purpose was to appraise the present situation of the Balili River and formulate means as to how the said water area could be established as a Water Quality Management Area (WQMA) as provided for in the Clean Water Act (RA 9275).
During the forum, it was discussed that in the national level, the sources of pollution includes the following sourced: agricultural (29%), industrial (27%), domestic (33%) and others (11%). It can be noticed that the highest percentage wherein pollution is derived from is from domestic sources or the households.
Although the Balili River is located in La Trinidad, the constituents of the City of Baguio is not left without responsibility as there are 74 identified barangays in the city which are considered tributaries or those which contribute in the pollution of the river; this comprises 24% of the totality of the Balili River. Hence, the coalition figured that there is a long way to go in achieving the purpose of the coalition.
Hon. Joel Alangsab, a member of the coalition and representing the barangays of Baguio City, suggested that a similar forum be held with the 74 identified barangays. Although the technical aspects would not be verbatim presented to them, the overview of the present condition of the Balili River, its causes, and what can be done about it, would be sufficient to enable them to have a clear grasp of the situation. The proper information handed down to the barangay officials will enable them to understand and thus to ignite their awareness and hopefully achieve their willingness and determination in pursuing solutions.
The coalition agreed that indeed, the Baguio barangays have a great contribution in solving the problem with the Balili River and thus they must be involved in such forums. But it is just a start as there are yet a lot of things to be done. The coalition pledged to do things within its ability with the support of the local government units and private entities so as to restore the quality of the Balili River. Such advocacy must be lauded as this is not for the present but more importantly for the future generation, as water is a vital source of life. For our part, especially the constituency within the 74 barangays, the initiative must be had so as to minimize the pollution being contributed. As part of Sir Mar Perez’ presentation during the forum, he quoted, “Be good environmental stewards for the glory of God”. (Collosians 3:23).