Festivals as stress tests for environmental policy
EVERY policy looks good on paper — until it is tested under pressure. For Iloilo province and city, that pressure arrives not in committee...
Making zero waste a daily Ilonggo habit
EVERY January, Iloilo renews its promise to care for the environment. Banners go up, hashtags trend, clean-up drives are organized, and the call to...
From reactive cleanup to preventive policy
EVERY major celebration in Iloilo City ends the same way: fireworks fade, crowds disperse — and garbage trucks roll in. Nearly 30 metric tons...
Garbage as a governance test
THE MORNING after major holidays has become more than a cleanup operation—it has turned into an annual stress test of governance. In Iloilo City...
Holiday cheer, year-round garbage
EVERY NEW Year, Iloilo City greets the morning after with the same sobering sight: mountains of trash where celebration once reigned. Nearly 30 metric...
What we choose to believe at the start of the year
EVERY New Year, Ilonggo homes transform into quiet stages of hope. Tables are laid out with round fruits, coins are tucked beneath bowls of...
If vendors are struggling, what about the rest of us?
AS REPORTED by this paper, fruit vendors in Iloilo City struggle to sell apples, grapes, and oranges days before the New Year. In a...
Building a safety culture
EVERY holiday season, the injuries tell a familiar story — one that goes beyond illegal firecrackers and weak enforcement. It is a story of...
Why illegal firecrackers still thrive
REPUBLIC Act 7183 and Executive Order 28 have been on the books for years, clear in intent and explicit in their bans. Yet every...
When ‘tradition’ blinds a child
A FIVE-year-old boy in Iloilo Province’s Component City of Passi will grow up seeing the world through one eye because a homemade firecracker exploded...