This morning, while commuting my way to work, I passed by the infamous Butuanon Bridge of Mandaue City. I’m not sure but I think they call the river below it Butuanon River too. I know that the river is connected to Cebu’s prized watersheds. Unfortunately, the river is exactly like what Manny Villar is portraying in his jingles — polluted, dark and lifeless. I thought, would it help if at least one company pledges to save the river and the lives in it? Glenn Soco may have started his campaign, but the sure way to save the river and every other devastated river in the country is to start with ourselves, in the context of the community.

Recently, a red alert status has been raised to 29 Philippine-found fish species including the famous dilis. Oh yes, dilis is in the red list! A book entitled “Red List: Status of Marine Endemic Teleosts (Bony Fishes) of the Philippines” has just been released to let the Filipinos know what we are going to lose if we don’t take action. The 29 bony fish species unique to our country’s waters, along with the threats to their survival, are listed in such book. Some of us may not mind how disturbing this topic might be, but these 29 fish species can be considered significant in terms of national pride. We are not required to identify these species by their scientific names. We, as ordinary people, just need to know what causes their near extinction and how we can save them.

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