EMONG'S JOURNALS

On March 19, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm, we'll be switching off the lights for Earth Hour 2016 -- a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet. Organized by the World Wide Fund (WWF), Earth Hour was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and the Philippines in 2008. Since then it has grown to engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide, and the one-hour event continues to remain the key driver of the now larger movement. The event is held worldwide towards the end of March annually, encouraging individuals, communities households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol for their commitment to the planet. What lights can be safely switched off? That is a decision that has to be made individually but usually the overhead lights in rooms (whether it is your house or a business), outdoor lighting that does not impact safety, decorative lights, neon signs for advertising, television...

A t least that's what a new congressional bill is all about. Called House Bill (HB) 4932 authored by ATeacher party-list Reps. Julieta R. Cortuna and Mariano U. Piamonte Jr., the proposed law taps an ordinary citizen to make a lawful (citizen's) arrest on an individual coughing out too much vehicular smoke on the streets. This, they say, is a support for the government-backed law RA 8479 or the "Clean Air Act." HB 4932 further says that a cash reward amounting to P10,000 will be given a citizen who makes a legitimate arrest. The legitimacy of the arrest shall be determined by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and shall be the lead agency to order the payment of such reward. The reward will be tax-free. This is how it goes: Under the authority of the new law, the citizen will effect the arrest of a driver or operator of a smoke-belching vehicle. After the arrest, he/she will bring the arrested person and the vehicle to the ne...