FREELANCER: Clearing of Waterways; Calls from ‘Judith’ & ‘Jonah’

I keep hearing complaints that there are still some online lenders who make calls even late at night and very early in the morning just to remind borrowers of their upcoming due dates although such are still several days ahead.

They say that even if they are good payers who settle days ahead of the due date, they are always disturbed by such calls made several times in a day or night, some of which, they say are virtual or pre-recorded. They can tolerate the text messages reminding them, but the repeated calls are annoying, they say.

I thought such repeated calls from “Judith” and “Jonah” are only done for delinquent or borrowers who missed their previous due date.

If indeed there are no reasons for such repeated calls involving your online credit or loan status, you can report personally or via email to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for abuse or harassment, or to the National Privacy Commission (NPC) for privacy violations or threats, and maybe you can switch to other lenders not known for doing it the next time you need to secure a loan.

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Clearing of Waterways

The rainy season’s full blast will be experienced again sooner than expected, with flash floods expected to occur in low lying areas in cities and towns.

The forecast is even worse, with weathermen warning about a Super El Niño which will bring months of drought up to 2027, with fewer but stronger typhoons starting July, something the government and everyone must prepare for.

In Bacolod, the clearing of canals, creeks and rivers was started even during the time of Mayor and now Congressman Albee Benitez, and is being sustained until now under Mayor Greg Gasataya. Such continuous efforts really need to be sustained because wanton disposal of garbage and other waste materials is still being done in some sitios and barangays despite warnings and so-called strict imposition of anti-littering ordinances.

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The offices of the Bacolod Congressman, City Mayor, the Department of Public Services, the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and even the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Environment under chairman Homer Bais, are always appealing to Bacolodnons to keep watch to make sure no one would throw garbage again into the waterways. These calls have helped a lot but a lot more are still dumping into the creeks and rivers.

Barangay leaders are also being urged to patrol the waterways in their jurisdictions and to rally their constituents to help, and yet there are barangay leaders who seem not to care.

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I don’t know if it has already done this, but alongside the massive clearing of waterways, maybe the city can do something, like tracing to know from where the bulk of the garbage comes from, and then come up with solutions to curb this dumping menace there.

The city must also sustain strict enforcement of waste management measures in the purok and barangay levels, and must really show its teeth in enforcing laws and ordinances on this matter, the same teeth it is using in the streets where vehicles parking in no parking areas and towing zones are being clamped right away.* (APT)