Kids call for cheat-free,
waste-free elections

What happens when Miss Earth and Little Miss Earth get together for the first time? They hit it off, and agree on one thing: that Mother Nature badly needs caring for, even in the heat of the election fever.

Miss Earth (Water) 2006 Cathy Untalan, and 9-year-old Little Miss earth 2006 Anne Patricia Lim, were special guests in the 17th anniversary session of the monthly environmental forum "Kamayan para sa Kalikasan" held recently at Kamayan Restaurant.

The session’s topic, Elections and the Environment, also attracted the appearance of Super WA (Walang Aksaya or Zero Waste), the EcoWaste Coalition’s champion in its ongoing drive to prevent and reduce campaign waste.

"I want to take care of the environment," Anne Patricia said. She, along with three young hopefuls in this year’s Little Miss Earth contest, presented a poster carrying their appeal for "cheat-free and waste-free elections" for the sake of their future. As Untalan and Super WA looked on approvingly at these earth-loving representatives of the next generation, the children signed the appeal with their hand prints, Kamayan style, to signify that our future (and theirs) is in our hands.

Forum panelists Beau Baconguis of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Rei Panaligan of the EcoWaste Coalition, Jeremy Nishimori of Halalang Marangal (No Cheats), and Dr. Ernie Gonzales of the UST Social Research Center, representing the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), expounded on the responsibilities of both the candidates and the voters in ensuring that the lections will be clean — in every meaning of the word — and will make a difference towards environmental health and a greener future for all.