Lighting homes with Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light) solar light bottle

MyShelter Foundation aims to brighten up one million disprivileged homes by 2012 with sustainable solar light bulbs built from simple plastic bottles filled with water, some chlorine and salt.

tearproof, waterproof 100% recyclable wallet

Mighty Wallet is made of Tyvek, “a very fine, high-density polyethylene (H.D.P.E.) fibers that are spun at high speeds to interlock in random patterns, resulting in a superior fabric that is tough as nails but also lightweight and breathable.”  Mighty Wallet is available at Red Dot, F.R. Castro Ave., Laoag City.

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. on Green Extremes: Master Planning to Neighborhood Developments (via bongbongm.com)

Via bongbong.com

Speech of Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
September 02 – 05, 2010
SMX, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City

Good Morning!
As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government and the Committee on Settlements and Urban Planning, I want to congratulate the organizers of this event…The Green Forum, Green Extremes: Master planning to neighborhood developments.

The threat from climate change is serious, it is urgent and it is growing. Governments and private sectors must act and move boldly, swiftly and with harmony – because if we fail, we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe.

Sixty (60) percent of the planet’s ecosystems are damaged; twenty (20) percent of the earth’s crust is degraded, we have been impassive witnesses to deforestation, land conversion, desertification, deterioration of fresh water systems, and overexploitation of marine resources, pollution and loss of biodiversity.

The overuse of land exceeds by thirty (30) percent the capacity to regenerate it. The planet is losing what the technicians call the ability to regulate itself; The planet is losing this, everyday more waste than can be processed is released. The survival of our species hammers in the consciousness of humanity.

This “Major, Major” – “Major, Major” problem of climate change can be, must be reversed!!!

Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man!!!

Mankind has been slow to respond to or even recognize the magnitude of the climate hreat. It is true in our own country as well. We recognized that. And I am proud to say that this green forum has done a lot to promote solutions in order to minimize the effect of climate change through master planning to neighborhood development programs.

Climate change is the single most important issue of our time and the action plan put forward the challenge to biosphere reserves to be key learning site for sustainable development giving emphasis to the role of the stakeholder communities as active participants, the academe and the scientific community to provide information and the political leaders through good governance in an environment of cooperation and partnership.

Efforts on research and monitoring are focused on the trade-offs and achieving balance between human responsibility to maintain nature and conserve biodiversity on the other hand, and on the other hand, the need to use natural resources for enhancing social and economic well – being of people.

For myself, myself my greatest contribution in preserving nature is the implementation of our windmills projects during my term as governor of Ilocos Norte.

By establishing a windmill farm, the country’s first wind power plant, in Bangui, Ilocos Norte, become the frontrunner in the promotion of clean energy and a leader in preserving and utilizing nature in a positive approach.

The 34.5megawatt windmill turbines came about when the country was experiencing blackouts way back in the 1990’s. We found out that we could use patches of land in the province where wind is strong, to build wind mills for power generation.

We began planning a wind farm because I wanted to free my constituency from dirty electricity — the kind that spikes and drops and destroy electronic equipments. The people of Ilocos did not want to buy appliances because the erratic power would destroy their equipment.

What the government needs to pursue is a consolidated policy on renewal or alternative energy to address power crisis and of course climate change.

We want effective global action. We want a new global agreement that can forge a truly comprehensive response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An agreement that is actually environmentally effective and economically fair.

Read the whole speech… Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. on Green Extremes: Master Planning to Neighborhood Developments.

Switch to Green, a Red Dot campaign

Red Dot and friends invite you to the first eco-living bazaar in Ilocos Norte.

Not just some fancy trend, going natural.. making those little changes in our lives… choosing smarter products… embracing an environmentally friendly lifestyle will keep Mother Nature smiling back at us.

Don’t forget to bring your own eco bag.

Go Eco Ilocos!

Watch out for the official announcement of the first eco-living bazaar in Ilocos Norte. It will be in Laoag… a taste of rural life in the city. Let’s go organic and natural.

via BlauEarth’s Blog

LEAD Movement attends the First Public Consultation on the Metro Ilocos Norte Tourism Master Plan

The LEAD Movement, being a tourism stakeholder in the province, gets invited to the First Public Consultation on the Metro Ilocos Norte Tourism Master Plan.

The invitation by Hon. Imee Marcos, Governor of the Province of Ilocos Norte, reads:

In connection to the formulation of the Metro Ilocos Norte Tourism Master Plan, encompassing initially the Cities of Laoag and Batac and the  Municipalities of San Nicolas, Paoay and Currimao including infra-support facilities and major establishments therein, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte, in coordination with the Palafox Associates will conduct the First Public Consultation on the Metro Ilocos Norte Tourism Master Plan on Monday, 23 August 2010, at 9:00 A.M., at the Provincial Capitol Auditorium, Laoag City.

In this regard, we are inviting you, including your municipal Tourism Officer, City/Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator, City/Municipal Engineers for the mayors, to attend said Public Consultation. Your inputs during the Consultation will help achieve a realizable and workable Tourism Master Plan for Metro Ilocos Norte.

Your attendance is highly appreciated.”

Part of the proposed Metro Ilocos Norte Master Tourism Master Plan

Arch. Felino “Jun Palafox, Jr. of the Palafox Associates. Sir Jun was born in Batac and raised in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte.

Urban and environment planner Miss Karmi Palafox, Project Manager, and EnP Paolo Fresnoza of Palafox Associates

Hon. Imee R. Marcos, Governor of the Province of Ilocos Norte, and Arch. Jun Palafox

Gov. Imee Marcos and Arch. Jun Palafox with the members of the Sanggunian Panlalawigan and the mayors of the different Municipalities of Ilocos Norte in attendance

Workshop 1: Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) Analysis

Workshop 2: Visioning Workshop

Presentation of group outputs

For the series of workshops, the attendees are divided into smaller groups; grouping is by tables. LEAD works with the Pasuquin-Burgos-Pagudpud cluster.

In the SWOT Analysis Workshop, strengths that get included are our natural heritage consisting of pristine beaches, primary forests, vast agricultural lands and long stretches of coastline and a rich cultural heritage. Some of the weaknesses that get mentioned are lack of facilities, uncooperation, old-fashioned mentality, unwillingness to accept change, tunnel vision, etc. Among the opportunities, the usual more income and employment in the province, more investors coming in, progress, etc. Political will, oppositions, un-eco-friendly practices like slash and burn farming, illegal timber poaching, blast fishing and others are mentioned under threats.

In the Visioning Workshop, draftsman Leo Doctor of the Planning and Development Office of the LGU of Pasuquin expertly puts into drawing the vision of the group — to be a model ecotourism destination in the Philippines sustained by the cooperation of all sectors and the judicious use of the natural resources of the Philippines. The poster makes the Top 3 in the contest wherein no less than Gov. Imee Marcos and Arch. Jun Palafox are the judges. The Laoag group comes in first.

The workshoppers

LEADers Benny Arce and Tina Tan in a photo op with Gov. Imee Marcos and Arch. Jun Palafox

In Arch. Jun Palafox’s presentation, entitled “Development Principles, Design Concepts, Best practices for tourism around the world, Potential Tourist Attractions”, he points out, “Ilocos Norte has more natural resources than some countries, but we seem to take it for granted.”

He adds, “Ilocos Norte can be the North Gateway of the Philippines.”

It’s great working with other stakeholders in the province for the province in an initiative by Gov. Imee Marcos under the guidance of world-renowned Palafox Associates, a trail blazer in Green Architecture and the same architectural firm that redesigned the State of Brunei Darussalam.”

As Gov. Imee says, “Simula pa lamang ito [This is just the beginning].”

More about the Initial Public Consultation and Workshop on the Metro Ilocos Norte Tourism Master Plan on BlauEarth’s Blog

Photos by Blauearth Copyright © Blauearth™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

PNoy, you lead, and we will follow you

From the Official Gazzette:

A Social Contract With The Filipino People

THE Campaign PLATFORM OF BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

A National Leadership in Need of Transformational Change

• Its legitimacy is under question;
• It persecutes those who expose the truth about its illegitimacy and corruption;
• It stays in power by corrupting individuals and institutions;
• It confuses the people with half-truths and outright lies;
• It rewards, rather than punishes, wrongdoing;
• It offers no lasting solutions for the many problems of the country;
• It weakens the democratic institutions that hold our leaders accountable.
• It hinders our local governments from delivering basic services;
• It has no vision of governance beyond political survival and self-enrichment.

A People Crying out for Change

• Corruption robs our children of their protection, nutrition and education.
• Corruption destroys our families and communities.
• Corruption steals from our farmers and workers.
• Corruption deters businessmen from investing in our economy.
• This has eroded our spirit as individuals, as communities, as a people.
• We have lost trust in the democratic institutions we so courageously re-established after the dictatorship.
• Our proven capacity for collective outrage and righteous resistance has been weakened.
• We have ceased to depend on the patriotism and civic engagement that used to animate many of our efforts.
• We have become divided and alienated, focusing only on ourselves and on our individual pursuits.
• Our moral faculties as a people have been paralyzed.
• We have retreated into a dark world of self-absorption and cynicism. Our collective despair has reached its lowest point.

Then finally, the gift of Light

Cory Aquino passed on to the next life. From our sadness, we awakened to a shaft of light cutting through the darkness. She left the Filipinos a legacy of selfless love for country and people. Filipinos’ connection with each other was rekindled. In death, she enabled us to hope again for decent government. The millions who connected with Cory at her funeral represented something more than euphoria, sentiment or transient emotions. They represented the reverent memory of a good leader in the past and the firm hope of having a similarly good leader in the future.

A People’s Campaign of Renewed Hope…

• Anchored on Ninoy’s and Cory’s legacy of change through the ways of democracy
• Embraces the qualities of integrity, humility and trust-worthiness in public leadership
• Recognizes the absence of these qualities in government as a major cause of widespread poverty, misery and despair.

The Vision for the Philippines:

A country with…

1. A re-awakened sense of right and wrong, through the living examples of our highest leaders;

2. An organized and widely-shared rapid expansion of our economy through a government dedicated to honing and mobilizing our people’s skills and energies as well as the responsible harnessing of our natural resources;

3. A collective belief that doing the right thing does not only make sense morally, but translates into economic value as well;

4. Public institutions rebuilt on the strong solidarity of our society and its communities.

Our Mission:

We will start to make these changes first in ourselves—by doing the right things, by giving value to excellence and integrity and rejecting mediocrity and dishonesty, and by giving priority to others over ourselves.

We will make these changes across many aspects of our national life.

A Commitment to Transformational Leadership:

1. From a President who tolerates corruption to a President who is the nation’s first and most determined fighter of corruption.

2. From a government that merely conjures economic growth statistics that our people know to be unreal to a government that prioritizes jobs that empower the people and provide them with opportunities to rise above poverty.

3. From relegating education to just one of many concerns to making education the central strategy for investing in our people, reducing poverty and building national competitiveness.

4. From treating health as just another area for political patronage to recognizing the advancement and protection of public health, which includes responsible parenthood, as key measures of good governance.

5. From justice that money and connections can buy to a truly impartial system of institutions that deliver equal justice to rich or poor.

Economy

6. From government policies influenced by well-connected private interests to a leadership that executes all the laws of the land with impartiality and decisiveness.

7. From treating the rural economy as just a source of problems to recognizing farms and rural enterprises as vital to achieving food security and more equitable economic growth, worthy of re-investment for sustained productivity.

8. From government anti-poverty programs that instill a dole-out mentality ® to well-considered programs that build capacity and create opportunity among the poor and the marginalized in the country.

9. From a government that dampens private initiative and enterprise to a government that creates conditions conducive to the growth and competitiveness of private businesses, big, medium and small.

10. From a government that treats its people as an export commodity and a means to earn foreign exchange,  disregarding the social cost to Filipino families to a government that creates jobs at home, so that working abroad will be a choice rather than a necessity; and when its citizens do choose to become OFWs, their welfare and protection will still be the government’s priority.

Government Service

11. From Presidential appointees chosen mainly out of political accommodation to discerning selection based on integrity, competence and performance in serving the public good.

12. From demoralized but dedicated civil servants, military and police personnel destined for failure and frustration due to inadequate operational support to professional, motivated and energized bureaucracies with adequate means to perform their public service missions.

Gender Equality

13. From a lack of concern for gender disparities and shortfalls, to the promotion of equal gender opportunity in all spheres of public policies and programs.

Peace & Order

14. From a disjointed, short-sighted Mindanao policy that merely reacts to events and incidents to one that seeks a broadlysupported just peace and will redress decades of neglect of the Moro and other peoples of Mindanao.

Environment

15. From allowing environmental blight to spoil our cities, where both the rich and the poor bear with congestion and urban decay to planning alternative, inclusive urban developments where people of varying income levels are integrated in productive, healthy and safe communities.

16. From a government obsessed with exploiting the country for immediate gains to the detriment of its environment to a government that will encourage sustainable use of resources to benefit the present and future generations.

This platform is a commitment to change that Filipinos can depend on.

With trust in their leaders, everyone can work and build a greater future together.