RJ's 108 Journal

[rj108journal]

Op-Ed Essay: Not So Solid Waste :((

Metro Manila is known to be one of the few “developed” areas in the Philippines. As seen as an economic center, people flock to the National Capital Region in search of livelihood and income. For the longest time Metro Manila has been funneled in funds for the continued development of the area to be able to provide more and more opportunities for jobs. This focus of economic development has led to a rise of the housing situation in the city. With a population density of 20,785 people per square kilometer according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, it is known for being the second most densely populated city in the world only behind Tokyo Japan. 

How much waste a person produces is often overlooked and with over 12 million people living in Metro Manila, about 8636 tons of solid waste is produced every single day based on a 2013 study. Trash that is collected ends up in landfills, this is a problem because capacity of the few landfills are being reached. Stories of the infamous Smokey Mountain in Tondo Manila are proof to this testament. Landfills are being piled up on and are reaching max capacity, recycling efforts are low and there is little action being done to this as trash ends up in canals, rivers, and sewage systems that leads to heavy flooding in Metro Manila. 

This problem of improper solid waste management is felt especially during the rainy season, where motorists are cautious of using the roads as a quick downpour could easily flood the roads. Flooding has become a common occurrence and adds to the already heavy traffic that motorists of Metro Manila already experience. 

The issue of flooding also comes from the poor city management of sewage systems. The incredibly quick and economic focus of industrialization and urbanization in the area resulted in the lack of proper areas of disposal for solid waste, and the inefficient sewage system the city currently has. An incredibly densely populated city, with improper solid waste management, and poor city planning and management result in the struggle of the many citizens living in the National Capital Region.

 The neglect of solid waste management can be felt not just in the flooding of canals and sewage systems but also by our Philippine waters as solid waste is likely to end up in our seas and oceans. The Philippines contributes to a whopping 2.7 million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean annually, which is equivalent to 20% of all trash that enters the ocean every year. Solid waste manifests in the flooding of roads and stuffing of landfills, and then ends up in our waters that affects our aquatic ecosystems, one of the country’s greatest resources. 

Waste management should be taken more seriously as Metro Manila has little options left with dealing with garbage. Innovative solutions are needed when tackling a problem this complex as it seeps into other areas and only in time will it manifest itself in a different form. 

Bw_mark. (n.d.). A solution to Metro Manila's garbage problem. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://www.bworldonline.com/a-solution-to-metro-manilas-garbage-problem/

Castillo, A. L., & Otoma, S. (2013). Status of Solid Waste Management in the Philippines. Status of Solid Waste Management in the Philippines, 1-2.

Ellalyn De Vera & Richa Noriega. (2019, September 25). MMDA chief points improper waste disposal as main cause of Metro Manila floods. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://mb.com.ph/2019/09/25/mmda-chief-points-improper-waste-disposal-as-main-cause-of-metro-manila-floods/

Loyola, J. (2020, June 30). Rapid industrialization, heavy rainfall, dumping of garbage in waterways cause of flooding in Metro Manila. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://mb.com.ph/2020/06/30/rapid-industrialization-heavy-rainfall-dumping-of-garbage-in-waterways-cause-of-flooding-in-metro-manila/

Manila Population 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/manila-population

Philippine Population Density (Based on the 2015 Census of Population). (2016, September 01). Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://psa.gov.ph/content/philippine-population-density-based-2015-census-population

This is why Philippines is world's third-largest ocean plastic polluter. (2020, September 10). Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/2168819/philippines-plastic-pollution-why-so-much-waste-ends-oceans

[rj108journal]

Petition

Petition to regulate fishing in the Philippines

To: Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc.

I am RJ Anonas of the Development Studies program of Ateneo de Manila University. As a development studies major, we are taught to define development, I am writing to you today to share my own definition about development. Development for me is about sustaining our country’s  natural resources for our children, our country’s future. Overfishing in the Philippines is a hindrance to a reality where our children can see the beauty of their home. Overfishing in the Philippines has been going on for many years and has caused the decline in the population of fish, and in effect the amount of fishes being caught every year has only gone down. This is a result of the unsustainable method of fishing that has led to habitat loss and ecosystem degradation. This negligence and lack of care towards our environment has a myriad of negative implications. The ones that are feeling it the most besides the environment are our small local fishermen, and future generations. Our children will grow up in a country not knowing its lost beauty of scenery and wildlife. Regulating fisheries will allow the environment a chance to recover and create a more sustainable model for our fellow countrymen that are reliant on our waters to have a balanced ecosystem so they are able to take what they need and nothing more. Our children can grow up knowing the beauty of their native land and be proud of it. This is my vision for this petition that I will be circulating through the internet on twitter and FB, and on sites such as change.org. Thank you for your time and I hope for your consideration to act upon this.

[rj108journal]

Guess the Fallacy pt.2

1. I don’t want to talk to you kasi bobo ka eh

 2. If I fail this quiz I will not be able to graduate and get a good job :(( 

 3. If you say that classes are hard, just say you don’t want to be a student anymore or work hard.

4.  Oh you're from ateneo, that means you're conyo asf 5. You murdered someone you’re a bad person “what does bad even mean?” 

[rj108journal]

Teddy Yeah Boooooooooooyyy Locsin

I actually saw this tweet from before and i was really confused to what he said or meant and what the purpose of him tweeting that was. I even actually saw the reply from i think the diplomat of Malaysia saying that Teddy Locsin would need to explain himself to Malaysia about what he meant or said. I feel like he just said something super ridiculous that had no purpose of being said. As a diplomat you would expect him to maintain good relationships with other countries, but i really dont know what he meant, i still dont know what he meant, or why he would say that. In communication is important to be clear in what you’re saying, and it should have a purpose. I would just reply with questions marks cause i really have no idea where he was going with that 

[rj108journal]

Dev108 Fallacies Practice

1. I don’t want to talk to you kasi bobo ka eh  2. If I fail this quiz I will not be able to graduate and get a good job :(( 3. If you say that classes are hard, just say you don’t want to be a student anymore or work hard. 

[rj108journal]

Dev108 Planned Advocacies

My group chose the advocacies of Gender Rights, Environment, and Education. Im very happy that with the choices as I am interested in Gender Rights and the Environment, but don’t know so much bout education reform so I’m also glad that I will be learning about something new. I was glad to see that my group had the same interests as me, I hope we’ll be able to work together better because of that. My main interest is gender rights, I’m not actually sure why, but there’s something about this particular topic that interests me, so I have to do some searching as to why I am interested in it. I think on a very shallow thought is that I am lucky to be a cisgender male, and I don’t know why those who aren’t are marginalized and I want to learn why they are and help them? It’s super labo but i think i can realize more about my interest when doing this project. I also really like that it’s super in depth, I mean that women are marginalized, but under that is women of color, and there transgender women, and so on and so forth. It’s a very rich topic but it’s also sad that it’s a rich topic if you understand what im saying. There’s a lot to learn and a lot of things to work on, so i hope i am able to develop my interest in this topic and be able to do things about the injustices. 

Second Advocacy is the environment. I really like this because i really love animals. In another life, I would be learning how to like David Attenborough. It’s cool that just from a hobby of watching Nat Geo or nature documentaries i developed this love for the environment, theres just this majesty in the environment, and seeing things in what we think is the “wild” but everything there is perfectly in place and perfectly balanced. As i grew older i understood the importance of the environment to our whole world and why we need to be able to sustain it. without the environment our world would not be balanced, and right now that’s what’s happening with climate change and species of animals becoming increasingly extinct and everything becoming so modernized. They think the opposite of modernity is nature like it’s some sort of hindrance and it’s not something we can work with. 

Education Reform

I honestly don’t know too much about this, but I do agree that there needs to be better education for all, and money shouldn’t be an issue as to why someone cannot receive quality education. I also think education should be more liberating, like what DS brings. There’s a meme i love and ill try to find it and post it but it encompasses my feelings for education reform.

Gender Rights

How can we change culture to make LGBTQIA/Women empowerment more accepted and normalized? I understand that laws and institutions that protect marginalized groups are there but how do we change the just tolerating and following laws into acceptance and celebration for all people? 

Environment 

How do we get people to think about future generations and sustainability when they simply do not care and are focused on exploiting the environment for profit. 

How do we change the values behind corporations and the way they operate? I know there are regulations and such, but how do we instill in people care for the environment and long term planning? 

Here’s the meme btw 

[rj108journal]

Dev108 Letters to Chel Diokno

My first thought is that how amazing and well written the letter to his son is. There was just this sincerity and opening up of himself to his son on that paper. He starts of with “Dear Popoy” for endearment and intimacy, advice from a father to his son. In the letter he talks about why his son Chel Diokno should not become a lawyer anymore, but in those reasons why he shouldn’t he found even better reasons as to why Chel should. He comes from a place of concern and fear, being a lawyer himself, he knows what kind of circumstances that his son will face if he does decide to pursue this. You can say there is a loss of hope in Him not wanting Chel to become a lawyer, because of what might happen to him under the dictatorship, or maybe even because of what he might end up becoming, in his own words, “a brilliant scoundrel.” He knew that choosing that profession would mean having to fight and survive everyday of his life, or risk losing himself in the process. It’s funny how this line from the Dark Night always gets mentioned but, “you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. It’s either his son has his back targeted, or becomes part of the dictatorship. What struck me the most is Jose Diokno actually let his son continue to pursue it. My own dad is a very stubborn person and once he makes up his mind there is no changing it. Jose Diokno understood the need for greater lawyers and saw that Chel could become one. He undertood that if he wanted his son to experience freedom, he would need to let Chel become a great lawyer, that parents would need to let their sons and daughters become great lawyers in these scary times. Jose already accepted that he might not experience that freedom, but in order for anyone else to do so, great lawyers are needed.  I would love to have this kind of letter from my dad. My family is not the closest and not open about anything but the support in the letters to Chel would be great. I shifted to development and I’m still unsure where I’m heading in it. My family is more of the business mindset, most of them work in corporate jobs, and don’t really understand development field so much. Like Chel, I feel like I have to play a bigger part in society for a better future. I don’t expect my family to understand because they never even heard of this course but I need them to have an open mind as to why I want to be in this profession. 

[rj108journal]

Second Dev108 Journal Entry

ISo we had a group work and part of my group was, Jude Buendia, Bianca Ferro, and Faith Santos. Im familiar with Faith and Jude as they are my coursemates in Development Studies but not so familiar with Bianca. I really like Tumblr as an outlet for the submission because it really feels like it’s my own journal, and i’m free to express my thoughts and opinions. It feels secluded and I think thats important for journals. Free from other people’s input and solely mine. For reflection and and learning  so now for going over my individual thoughts on the output the group made. I really liked the table for the definitions of communication for development and development communication, at the start it was a little difficult to discern what the difference is between them, but as you go down the table you could see the progression of the two concepts and the uniqueness but also the interconnection with each other. As you go down the table and the definitions become more and more recent, you can really see the development of it as it becomes more on empowering communities and authorities allowing themselves to become instruments for development, as they only facilitate the process but it is actually the communities themselves that communicate on what they developed. Communication is interesting and so essential in the field of development. Collaboration needs communication. My dad would say, “if the person you were talking to doesn’t understand, its your fault” Of course it could be the fault of the receiver for many reasons, but what my dad was saying is that in order for effective communication we need to adjust to who we are talking to. Make it easier for them to understand. Communication is contextualized, just like development. I think its important for the communities to relay what help they need properly to the authorities, and for the authorities to properly explain what they can and cannot do for the communities. I think Communication for Development is more of a bottom up thing where it comes from the community and Development Communication is more of a top down thing, where authorities explain how they can help out, but ultimately it is up to to the community on what should happen 

I feel like the Quebral Primer was nice naman. Its a personal bias that i don’t like seeing economic development as a measure because it really is so flawed. There can be economic development but only for the elite that literally control the economy and earn based on abusing the masses. I feel like that people only use the economic measure to not necessarily trick people but more of giving justification that even if only a few people are earning money its okay because its development and it creates jobs. The problem with this is that the quality is not there. The Quebral Primer does mention of how it evolved to now more of a social based development perspective and how importance is given to communication from the communities to what their needs are. Which I like more. I dont know if there is reason or rationality to my hate of economic measures and modernization theories for development. I dont know if its justified but i don’t see a good reason for it and it just promotes neocolonialism of global south countries. A continued dependence on global north countries. Its like we’re playing a game where they make up the rules to how they want it or playing catch up with them when they’re already so far out of reach. If we can start our own development path we won’t need to compare or compete with anybody, but its so difficult because where do we go from here if we’re not following someone? I guess that’s why communication for development is so important because we need to start within our communities.

The last reading was the Chatterjee Article. I actually really liked the article because it explained well and thoroughly what development communication is and gave context to how the meaning evolved. I also really like the aspect of Development Journalism which makes it more accessible and makes it more reader friendly i think. It allows more people to be interested and be informed. Im not sure if that is right because my understanding of development journalism is those articles we see in social media talking about marginalized groups situations and why they are in that place. It creates dialogue so i feel that development journalism is a great innovation part of development communication which creates dialogue. The con of that is that there is so much fake news that also hinders development. Social Media is like a rabbit hole, where it takes you deeper, so for example if someone starts liking posts about fake news, that’s all they are gonna see, just more and more fake news. That person would have built this shell around him full of misinformation and wrong ideas that will continue to hinder them from developing their opinions and ideas of the world around them. 

[rj108journal]

First Dev 108 Journal Entry 9/16/20

I think the benefits of keeping a journal for me would be the reflection, processing of thoughts, and having something to go back to to reflect again. I think I’m a sentimental person, I often find myself going through old photos, or instagram stories, and I know if i keep an online journal of my dev thoughts it would be quite interesting. I can see how I progress on my development journey and reflect on how i have changed or how my perspectives on certain things changed. I do think it’s good that people reflect on their thoughts and feelings, their is a responsibility we owe ourselves to learn more about us as a person, or in this case, as a development studies major. I usually on do reflections while in bed, but i think actually noting it down will allow me to track and learn more about myself as i have something to comeback to. 

[rj108journal]

Start of 108 Journal

I apparently used my OBF account for a similar requirement for my SocSci class during 1st Year when I was still in Economics. This post will mark the start of this account being used for Dev 108 reflections and thoughts! 

[rj108journal]

Binhi Output

my usual saturday goes either two ways. one is i wake up early to go to Alabang, usually a one hour thirty minute ride and im there. then usually i go to the gym and then shower, rest, then off to play basketball. when i get home from playing, i usually shower, eat something not too heavy because it’s around 7 or 8 by then and shower. after some netflix then go to sleep at around 10 or 11. 

the second way my saturdays go is i come home early morning of saturday and sleep til 11. first thing i do when i get up is i shower because i probably didnt when i got home. then make myself some lunch because im probably home alone and netflix, maybe play a bit of ps4 after. then i usually go to sleep late in the afternoon and wake up around 7. some dinner and then use my phone for a few hours then drift off to sleep. 

the first way is a lot more active and i choose this when im a bit stressed and need to exercise to take some of it away. i like to keep in shape when at this age. i try to look fit as much as possible because i think appearance is important.

 the second is a lot more lazy and just recovering from the night before. this also comes from the laziness someone my age experiences. just looking for fun and not minding requirements for a bit. 

my binhi saturday was quite weird because i came from a night out but had to wake up early to get to Ateneo. i woke up a little later than i expected, bought the food for sharing and made it as they were boarding the jeeps. when we got there, we were assigned to our families and our nanay’s family was in the middle of eating breakfast and usually i dont eat breakfast. they offered me food and i just told them i had already eaten which was a lie which i said out of respect but  im pretty sure it came off as snooty. we had some small talk in which my nanay apologized because there wasn’t much to do here. of course we said that it was ok. we talked some more and then she turned on the TV, which is what they usually do around here. because of their situation, there really isnt much to do than sit and wait. we watched Showtime and i fell asleep because i was tired from the night before and i wasnt moving around much. i woke up and watched some more tv and then it was time to go.

looking back we have similar saturday routines where not much is being done. the difference is they dont have the option to do anything else. im not saying this because this makes me more superior than them but it is the reality of both of the situations we are in. 

[rj108journal]

SocSci Blog 5

We learned about the dynamics of love and sex and the sorts. It was kind of weird when we discussed how views of sex were so different from gender (boys vs. girls) and also how different it is from the older generations. When I think about how strict the older generations were, I mean it really just defined the perception of sexuality for the next generations. The gender roles and societal expectations for boys and girls are kind of outrageous. Girls have to be like this and boys have to be like that and no they should not mix characteristics or traits just no. I don’t think im the most progressive in terms of thinking, but there was really something off with how the idea of sex was taught to my generation and the older ones as well. I don’t know if we’re the first generation to notice that something wasn’t right about it, but it lead us to going out and looking for answers of our own and I think that’s super cool. I know a lot of people been making jokes for years now like “hey it’s 2016, stop hating on the gays”, “hey it’s 2017”, “hey its 2018” blah blah blah, but really, it is 2019 now and we should just be open to people because everyone has their own differences. Not all girls were made the same and that’s ok. Girls don’t need to have slim bodies without hair. The same goes for boys. Not all of them are tall, built with muscles and that’s ok too. Not having any of those socially constructed “ideal characteristics” will make you less of a man or woman. We really are living in 2019 where there shouldn’t be a standard for how much of a man or woman you are. I don’t know if im phrasing this right and im sorry if it comes off offensive as this is a sensitive issue. I don’t meant to offend anyone as I’ve only recently come to take up this topic and I know this is only the tip of the iceberg but I feel like this is a good start and good mind-set towards this issue. There’s a lot more for me to understand which will help me when it comes to reacting to issues related to sexuality.

I learned that I am a cisgender male, which basically means straight I think. Also that there was something called romantic attraction where it focuses on the desire for emotional relationships or to whom you want to place your trust in where I am more on the male side of things. Which makes sense because I grew up closer to my dad than my mom. I always had this thought that maybe I was gay deep down, but that explained it, where my sexual attraction was all female so it helped me figure myself out more.

[rj108journal]

this week we learned about the looking glass self which is basically how other people view us and how we show off different sides of ourselves depending on the situation. in the past i’ve been very conscious about what people thought about me. but for a while now, its not that i dont care about what other people think because that’s important too, its just that i give more value to my opinion first and then i’ll think about what other people have to say. the activity was fun for me because besdies my usual group i dont really talk with my other classmates. even if we’re not directly interacting it was cool that i got say what i thought about them. most of my friends just put gago stuff and thats fine because it’s their way of expressing our relationship to each other but i wanted to maybe learn something new about myself i didnt see before. maybe somebody sees something in me that i dont. we had this activity in my retreat last year and most of the comments were actually very similar. im scared that this means i haven’t grown since i’ve gone to college. two different groups saying the same things about me. it’s not that i hate what they wrote but i believe in growth and i hate feeling like im stuck or being stagnant. maybe its because they only know me for the one side im showing and that i need to expose myself more.

[rj108journal]

SocSci Blog Post 4

when my dad was growing up, his dad never really showed affection or spent time with my dad or his siblings. my lolo was very distant to all of his kids. my dad didn’t mind because he kept himself busy with sports, academics, and other extra curriculars.

when i asked my dad what he found most memorable about me growing up, he said it was me playing basketball. i had this game against one of the tougher teams and my school really equipped to win games. he doesn’t remember specifics because it happened over 10 years ago but he remembers me playing really well and beating a team that was bigger and older than mine.

my dad made it a point to try and be more present in our lives. he isn’t affectionate either but he’s there in the things that are important to me and my siblings. mostly our varsity games but that was our connection with him. he grew up playing sports and that was one way to connect with him. maybe that’s why me and my siblings even play sports in the first place.

it was in the industry vs inferiority stage. i started playing basketball since i was 6. it was because of basketball i started to get into different sports as well

my dad kept busy when he was growing up because his dad wasn’t around much. now my dad isn’t the sensitive type because of how he grew up. he told me that he wished his dad was there for him more because he was practically independent from his dad early on. my dad tried not to repeat his father’s mistake and was present in my life. i always wanted to be like my dad when i was younger and i think that’s where i got my no showing feelings side.

[rj108journal]

SocSci Blog Week 3

so there’s this guy i know, he was struggling in his first semester of college because he would never plan out what he was gonna do for the week. it would always be putting out fires whenever they came up (system 1). maybe not even doing what was best but just getting it done right away. with all the homework and readings and extra curricular he had. it eventually caught up to him and kicked him in the ass. he couldn’t just keep putting out fires as they came up anymore. he was behind in a lot of subjects but didn’t think too much of it. he thought that since he was in this position before and his friends as well but they turned out fine, the same thing will happen to him again (availability heuristic). it didn’t take long for him to go over the edge. after he failed another math LT he decided that he needed to buckle up and start thinking long term. he knew he needed to plan out things so that he could focus on math and the last exam coming. luckily, he came around just in time and passed. 

[rj108journal]

SocSci Blog Week 2

This week we had the topic of globalization, something I already took up in highschool. I understood the concepts taught then but didn't really see it around me. Most of my classmates more or less came from the same background and not much diversity in the class. When we took it up last week it was more meaningful because now that in college I'm interacting with so many different people and it's always good ti start off on some common ground. As Filipinos we are already a hybrid identity. Most of us are Filipinos but our influences are so different. My block mates from CDO or Cebu that speak Bisaya or my other block mate from Guam, they are Filipino but have a different upbringing than I had. Even my very Asian block mate who is Korean and Japanese, we are able to get along well because of our common interests. The world really is getting smaller and coming together through Globalization

I particularly enjoyed the activity, where I got to learn more about my classmates especially the ones not from my block. It was really fun to do skits again something that I thought was left in highschool. It just makes the class more attentive and participative and we apply the lessons we learned while enjoying ourselves.

[rj108journal]

First HW Blog Post

Hi, My name is Ricardo Jose Maria del Rosario Anonas, and i am a 19 year old guy and the youngest of 4 siblings (two brothers and one sister) and live with both my parents. I go to school at Ateneo De Manila University where im a freshman taking up economics. Most of my friends are from there but i have a few friends from Alabang, Muntinlupa because that where i grew up. i moved recently to be closer to school so i dont really know any of my neighbors and our family friends are in Alabang. 

I was kind of excited but at the same time scared because we were dealing with the process of learning about ourselves. i was excited because i don’t know much about me. the things that i know come from the people around me. i was also scared because i don’t know much about myself. what if later i find out there’s something wrong with me besides that i think im gonna enjoy the course. the readings are actually interesting and i wonder how this applies to my life.