credit to GMA
As Singapore continues to be enveloped by smog from slash-and-burn activities in Indonesia, Filipinos in the city-state have been complaining of difficulty in breathing.
Through GMA's citizen journalism arm YouScoop, Lovely Diana Reynante, a Filipina residing in Pasir Ris in Singapore, shared a video showing the fog brought about by smoke blown from Indonesian illegal forest fires to clear out land in Sumatra island.
“This afternoon I went to school and na notice ko na a lot of people na nandito naka mask na tapos sa school po wala ng mask kasi they're running out of stocks na po,” Reynante said on Thursday night's “Saksi” newscast.
The video showed a fog-covered Singapore similar to what Filipinos see after New Year's Eve.
Reynante also shared a photo showing the the fog's thickness, which brought the city-state to almost zero visibility.
Reynante described the fog as having a burnt smell that sticks to one's clothes.
“Nahihirapan na po kami huminga and yung sa throat namin sobrang makati,” she said.
She noted how the fog was now dangerously on ground level compared to when it started to form in Singapore on Tuesday.
The Philippine Embassy in Singapore has urged Filipinos to stay indoors to protect themselves from the dangerous haze that blanketed the city-state.
In an advisory posted on its website, the embassy said Filipinos should close their doors and windows and clean their air conditioning filtering system to clear their house of the smog.
The haze was caused by illegal forest fires in Sumatra island, Indonesia, to clear space for palm oil plantations.
Difficult to breathe
Meanwhile, Lhes Hugo, an OFW who resides in Hougang, Singapore, told GMA News Online how the smog made it difficult for him to breathe.
“Ang hirap huminga, nakakahilo yung effect. Nakaka dry sa mata at yung tipong lagi kang uhaw [ang pakiramdam],” Hugo said.
He noted that the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) levels on Friday reached 400 which was considered hazardous.
“Yung level na yun delikado sa bata at mga elderly,” Hugo said, adding that now the PSI levels seemed to have lowered.
He said the Singaporean government is having talks with Indonesia to resolve the problem.
The government of Indonesia has already vowed to extinguish the fire causing the haze in Singapore.
Hazardous levels
Meanwhile, a Reuters report on Saturday said Singapore's pollution index climbed back to "hazardous" levels and air quality deteriorated in the Malaysian capital on Saturday as Indonesia came under heavy pressure to bring fires from slash-and-burn land clearing under control.
Indonesia has deployed military planes to fight the blazes on Sumatra island from illegal burning that typically takes place in the June to September dry season to clear space for palm oil plantations. The fires are unusually widespread this year and the smog is the heaviest in Singapore's history.
Companies behind the fires would find no refuge in Singapore, Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said on Saturday, even as he acknowledged limits in international law to deal with firms that operate outside the city-state.
Indonesia blamed eight companies for the fires on Friday, including Jakarta-based PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART) and Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL).
The Indonesian government, which said it would take action against anyone responsible for the disaster, is expected to name the rest of the companies on Saturday.
Diplomatic tension
Singapore warned that the "haze" - which has fuelled fears about health problems and raised diplomatic tension in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia - could last for weeks, or even longer.
On the sixth day of the thick smoke, Singapore's pollution index returned to the "hazardous" zone with readings above 300. It hit a record of 401 on Friday afternoon, a level considered potentially life-threatening for the ill and the elderly.
The smell of burned wood filled the air and visibility was poor, with buildings shrouded in a grey gauze. Streets in the clean and green city-state, which usually enjoys clear skies, were far less crowded than on a typical Saturday when people go out to shop, meet in outdoor cafes and have fun at the park.
The cost of the smog for Singapore, a major financial center and tourist destination, could end up being hundreds of millions of dollars, brokerage CLSA said in a report.
In Malaysia, the haze spread north. Air quality in Kuala Lumpur, the capital, and in several surrounding areas worsened into the "unhealthy" zone. The air quality was now "unhealthy" in 17 areas of Malaysia and "very unhealthy" in one area.
$20-million budget
Indonesia has earmarked around 200 billion rupiah ($20 million) to handle the disaster. Seven military aircraft were deployed for water bombings and cloud seeding.
"The majority of hotspots in Riau are inside APRIL and Sinar Mas concessions," senior presidential aide Kuntoro Mangkusubroto told Reuters on Friday.
