By Atty. Egay Uy
ONE lazy afternoon as the sky started to become cloudy and the air a little colder, the birds that would have sung their favorite songs, tweets, and chirps in a natural concerto of the fauna, suddenly flew away, literally scampering amidst the bangs, clickety-clangs, and what-have-you of heavy metal being unloaded from a huge truck that occupied almost the entire narrow road inside the compound. Include in the disturbance the loud revving of the cargo truck engine as it maneuvered around the narrow interior road in the compound.
I will surely miss those concertos because the colorful singers, the birds of various sizes and species, have lost a part of their natural habitat, their concerto stage as if it were in the famous “got talent” launching pad of artists, and the green lush trees that erstwhile were undisturbed and which gleefully provided the peaceful and quiet neighborhood with fresh air and eye-soothing sights.
The birds lost their homes because a telecommunication tower will take the place of the natural growths of vegetation. A tower that will most likely become a remembrance of disrespect and arrogance towards neighbors and others more.
This, as if saying, “Ang kalipay nako mao ra ang akong inspirasyon. Time will come when we will leave this earthly abode. And what is important is I have left you with a miserable neighborhood which will make not only you but for future generations as well suffer the consequences of my inconsiderate decision.”
Yes, the birds flew away and probably will be back only to defecate on the steel structure as if they commiserate with the peace and quiet-loving residents of the neighborhood.
Why has this become possible? The answer is simply not only because some arrogant government agencies literally removed the right of lot owners to be heard as regards the construction of telecommunications towers in their neighborhood through a mere memorandum circular but also because of somebody's indifference towards the deprivation of what used to be a peaceful and quiet and undisturbed enjoyment of the environment by a serene neighborhood.
Starting a long journey with the wrong foot will always end up wrong. And the birds simply flew away.
