Nation Reassured That Smoke Blanketing Northern Metro Manila Is Being Studied Very Carefully
Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat
Navotas Landfill Fire Enters Month Two, Japan Sends Seven Experts, Philippines Sends Committee
NAVOTAS — The fire at the Navotas Sanitary Landfill, which broke out on March 26 and has been burning for thirty days with the patient determination of something that cannot be persuaded to stop, received a significant boost in international credibility this week with the arrival of a seven-member Japan Disaster Relief Expert Team at NAIA, who will provide what the Japanese Embassy described as “technical advice on firefighting operations” and what residents of Navotas describe as “something, please, anything.”
The JDR team comprises experts from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the National Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, all of whom landed, held a kick-off meeting, received a briefing, and began assessing the situation with the methodical thoroughness of people who are used to disasters being taken seriously.
The Thirty-Day Context
The landfill has been on fire for a month. Smoke from the site has raised concerns about harmful substances. Residents in surrounding areas have been inhaling what experts describe as “the output of burning garbage” and officials describe as “an ongoing environmental situation under active monitoring.” According to Manila Bulletin’s report, the JDR team will assess and provide recommendations based on Japan’s technical expertise and experience. What differentiates Japan’s technical expertise from the expertise already present in Metro Manila is the subject of diplomatic silence.
The Diplomatic Angle
Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya stated “Kasama niyo kami” — We are with you — which is either a warm expression of bilateral solidarity or, in context, the most tactful possible way of saying “we noticed your landfill has been burning for a month and thought we should come and look at it.”
The Philippines and Japan are marking 70 years of diplomatic relations, which is being celebrated in part through the deployment of seven people who know about fires to a place that is on fire. Much as Britain has developed an entire department devoted to the formal processing of institutional failure, the Philippines has developed a system in which disasters receive expert assessment with appropriate speed. The fire was noted in March. The experts arrived in April. Recommendations will follow. The smoke continues.
Residents have been advised to stay indoors. The indoor air quality was not part of the advisory.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/internet-is-held-together-with-duct-tape/