Josefino Comiso, a Fil-Am senior scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center was invited as part of the Balik-Scientist program to share his knowledge and his resources with the rest of us Pinoys. Yet, the Press Secretary dismissed his warnings that we will lose most of the flora and fauna that is endemic to the Philippines and, even to flooding in Metro Manila.

The Press Secretary’s reply: "Kung talaga bang malulunod ang Manila, huwag muna ... Dapat gumawa na tayo ng salvavida. Let’s all start practicing how to swim."

With that flippant remark, the spokesman of this country has doomed whatever serious thoughts or plans the Philippines might have for mitigating global warming. Dureza has dismissed the greatest danger that the world faces as a big joke. Ha-ha! Imagine how this will play to the rest of the world where they are pulling out all stops to try to stop or slow down global warming.

Comiso says that the continued melting of the Arctic ice caps, brought about by climate change, could cause sea levels to rise by 23 feet; also, fish stocks would be depleted and many species of plant and animal life would die because of the change in ocean temperatures caused by climate change.

It is typical of a country that may not exist in the future to regard these warnings with mirth as though it was a big joke. We, who are about to perish, are allowed as many bits of braggadocio we can come up with before the seas swallow us.

Actually, I am surprised at the figure of 23 feet. But it is probably correct. I used to think that it would be two or three feet at the most. After all, in Medina, Misamis Oriental where my wife and I have a house by the beach, even as the water has been rising over the last forty years, the water is rising at a rate that is almost imperceptible year on year. Of course, after 40 years, the sea has come up about a foot and a half. Thus, since the rate accelerates as more of the polar cap melts, one can imagine that while getting up to 18 inches might have taken 40 years, getting to another 258 inches may only be a few years down the road.

We must face the fact that being an archipelago composed of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines is in actual danger from rising sea levels. These findings cannot be dismissed as if they were a big joke. One does not take lightly what must be taken as a warning of imminent danger to our continued existence. Of course, that day when the beach of Manila Bay will be somewhere in Sta. Mesa is probably far off in the future; still, that will probably come within the lifetime of a child born today.

Whatever we can do to mitigate global warming in any way will mean a lot to the generation of future Pinoys. This is no laughing matter.

***

Too bad that the decision on the "kidnapping" of Jun Lozada came at a time when the Court of Appeals is in disrepute. It is, however, the proper decision.

Associate Justice Celia Librea-Leagogo ruled that Lozada’s wife Violeta and his brother Arturo, who brought the matter before the CA, failed to prove that Jun was taken against his will or that his constitutional rights had been violated.

In fact, Lozada had asked for protection in order to avoid testifying in the Senate. What the Lozadas did not tell the Court was that, while giving that story line to the government persons that he was talking to, Lozada was also in secret talks with Senator Ping Lacson who went to the airport precisely to meet Lozada’s plane from Hong Kong.

If the CA had known that, it might not have concluded that the Lozadas decided to file against the government only after Jun Lozada talked to Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manila who went to the Las Salle school compound in Greenhills to see Lozada. What the CA did not realize was that the whole Lozada incident was only high drama to boost his stock before he appeared in the Senate inquiry on the already aborted ZTE broadband deal.

In fact, the amparo and habeas corpus petitions were filed when Lozada was already back with his family in the La Salle school compound. So, how could they be regarded with any seriousness?

The CA denial of the petitions filed by the brother and the wife of Lozada in relation to his abduction at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last Feb. 5 upon his arrival from Hong Kong finally brings to a close the Lozada performance on the national center stage.

No applause will be forthcoming.