Monday, September 11, 2006

It Has Been a Month...

Today (September 11) marks not only the 5th anniversary of the New York Twin Tower bombing but also the 31th day of another tragedy: the Petron Oil Spill in Guimaras. Both tragedies have far-reaching and some say irreversible impact on the lives of the people living in the area. A full month has gone by and the ill-fated MT Solar I has not yet been salvaged and the oil inside its cargo hold has not yet been sucked out. As consuelo de bobo, the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF) has promised that oil spill victims can claim compensation for economic and pollution damages of up to US$315 million.

I can sense that public interest in the oil spill tragedy is waning and it may not be long before media shifts its attention to another crisis. As they say, public attention span is good only for one, two months tops.

2 comments:

KG Betita said...

Hey Iloilo City Boy, I was in Iloilo City and Estancia (where my father was born) and I really enjoyed my five-day stay there. Not to be biased but I think the best Filipinos are the Ilongos; the best place: Iloilo. So sad about the Guimaras oil spill. I was drinking beer with my brothers with the whole family (went there with them minus my father who passed away three years ago)at Fort San Pedro Sunday (Sept 3?). Pare the best diba (only if you drink). There's also this place called Breakthrough where we drank the whole night on our first night and I couldn't get drunk because of those talaba. It was worth it though, since I got to spend more time drinking with old folks. Ah, Iloilo--I love the place. I'll go back soon with my little boy.

Oliver M. Mendoza said...

Iloilo City has been known to have that effect on first-time visitors, especially on those who love the laid-back life.