Dead Algae Along Shore
The Issue: Dead algae, an eye sore along the island’s most beautiful stretch of shoreline.
Since time immemorial, we have lived through calm and storm with dead algae along the most beautiful stretch of sand facing the Philippine Seas.
We swim and fish in the lagoon for family dietary needs for years or even sell them to fish markets for profit. We do this year-in and year-out. Heavy storms hit these islands where Mother Nature rearranges sand bars between the northern and southern shores. Around August, sand shifts north or southward, during a storm. It’s a natural phenomenon here since time immemorial.
The work of nature could be devastating if man contributes to the erosion of inland silt into the lagoon. So far a “…lot more is said than done…” to ward-off water run-offs that descend from estuaries.
The precious reef–habitat of reef fish in the lagoon–continues to die while more acknowledgments–at the address level–are spewed out to the local media.
It seems the NMI has a lot of suspect experts in the identification of problems. And so the top guns–through a press conference or solicited expert views–announce that there’s a need to “address” the issue. It sounds and feels good when new bureaucrats learn to use the term “address” in a sentence.
Now that we know what the problems are (some long-standing that have been continuously addressed since four decades ago), it’s most fitting that we begin learning the definition of the word “solution”. It would allow for the timely resolution of problems that have been turned inside-out since years ago.
It’s time to take the “Address Syndrome” to the resolution level so we don’t return the next year only to repeat the same tired old message like some fully trained local parrot. Let’s do it. It’s time to start resolving problems we’ve treated with “address” excuses for decades now.
