"Green Spaces" must be protected, preserved and expanded

Akbayan Partylist Nominee Tom Villarin

Akbayan party-list today welcomed the veto of the proposed Davao City ordinance which would have weakened or removed the 10 percent green space requirement in all subdivisions and urbanized areas.

“Preserving the integrity of our environmental safeguards must be upheld even as we pursue development,” said Tom Villarin, Akbayan nominee and a long-time advocate of sustainable development. “Developers should not skirt on their long-term responsibility to protect the environment in exchange for short-term convenience and profitability.”

On top of the mayor’s veto, “the resolve of citizens to guard Davao City’s environmental health and keep the city council’s overreach in check is a triumph of accountability and people power,” added Villarin, a resident of Davao City.

Akbayan reiterated that the passage of the ordinance did not satisfy free and prior informed consent requirements, as the Save Davao Green Spaces (SDGS) coalition had earlier demanded an explanation why there were no public hearings and consultations on the said measure. All city councilors except Councilor Mabel Acosta, approved the passage of the ordinance.

Ramp up diplomatic defense against China

China’s recent deployment of surface-to-air missiles to Woody Island inside the Paracel Islands was more reason for the Philippines to bolster its ties with other bullied countries in the West Philippine Sea.

While this deployment of missiles may be outside our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), this has ramifications on our sovereignty. We can’t wait for the People’s Liberation Army (Chinese Army) to also deploy advanced military hardware within striking distance from our shores.

The Chinese government has no intent to de-escalate the tense situation in the West Philippine Sea. On the contrary, it is moving towards full militarization of all islands in the disputed area. Their actions seem to indicate they are tilting towards a military option for a diplomatic problem such as the conflicting claims.

The Builder from the Boundaries

Tom has always belonged to Mindanao.  He remembers songs of his favorite band Asin extolling Mindanao’s yearning for change. He remembers his geography teacher saying that Mindanao is our home that we should fight for and help build a future.

His father brought Tom to Davao city as a child where he came to know about how diverse the peoples of Mindanao were.  It was also a time when the Bangsamoro was at the height of its struggle under the dictator.

Tom’s awakening to fight injustice happened when he came face to face with violence at an early age when a soldier shot an older brother of a Muslim friend.  When he was a high school senior in his hometown, Bislig, Surigao del Sur,  his father was fired for siding with the cause of company workers who were demanding wage increases.  His father knew that the logging and paper company was getting rich at the expense of the workers --- and the environment. His father went to work abroad and became one of the first overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and had to move the family to Manila.

Tom went to a university in a far-away city knowing nothing about the place nor the language they speak. Later on Tom made friends, became a student activist, and was elected to the college student council and even had a stint as a campus journalist.

On the SSS issue...

"Pension funds are investment funds and pension managers have to find alternatives to boost it other than subsidies from taxpayers. Radical investment activities in infrastructure, energy and tourism are some of these options. The myopic view in politics though always prevail. Welfare is not all about subsidy but market competition and bridging inequality through job creation, increasing income opportunities, and access to government services."

"Only over 10% of SSS members are regular wage workers and the rest have seasonal jobs or are self-employed. Increasing the contribution rate is the rational way to augment the pension fund and thereby justify increases in pension. Collection efficiency will mean hiring more people to go after small businesses scattered around the archipelago and will not lead to a sizable increase in the fund. Though in itself it is still an employment generation mechanism."

Akbayan Party-list 1st Nominee Tom Villarin in action

Akbayan Partylist 1st Nominee Tom Villarin addresses participants to the Mati City  Local Poverty Reduction 
Action Team (LPRAT), explaining the relevance of Civil Society Organizations (CSO) engagement with Local Government Units.