I think I know what GAbby’s point is…. why make a distinction between reckless waste at home and in public places when both end up the same place?
Because when you take responsibility of your trash at home, you are communicating you respect public places.

What the waste management company does when it takes the trash from your home is entirely their responsibility. YOU did yours. If they don’t do their part, it’s their problem.

But it should not be a reason to just go throw trash in the streets.

We Filipinos (a) don't see the issues that face us as components in a bigger framework of dysfunction, (b) fail to apply the class of thinking required to identify the causal relationships between components in this bigger framework, and therefore (c) revert to finding comfort and “hope” in superstition, religion, mysticism, and the empty promises and slogans of traditional politicians. In the case of this year's All Soul's Day, the comfy world of the spiritual (in the sense of the rather shallow way Filipinos regard spirituality) so easily provided a rather disruptive distraction — almost like an induced amnesia — from applying any lessons revealed by the Ondoy disaster.

There is a popular feel-good saying:

Satisfaction is getting what you want;
Happiness iw wanting what you get.

The trouble with sayings like the above that pander to loser mentalities is that they lead one to believe that “getting what you want” and “wanting what you get” are mutually exclusive. They are not, because you can have both.

Getting what you want is a fulfilment of one's aspirations. And wanting what you get is an ability to appreciate one's achievements. As we can see from this reality check, the two aspects of the above saying actually complement each other.

Perhaps those who left their rubbish in the Philippines' cemeteries this weekend thought that they'd abdicate their responsibilities as civic-minded citizens under the excuse that they were too busy having a “happy” time playing mahjong and pusoy with their kamag-anaks for one night.

I wonder where this so-called “bayanihan” spirit so loudly trumpeted went. Oh well. Perhaps, when another crisis arrives.

You know what, GabbyD? I agree with you.

You (though apparently unwittingly) described the system of dysfunction that characterises that slobbery of Pinoys that leads to all these environmental disasters we’ve been seeing AND WILL continue to see in coming years.

Thus Pinoys:

(1) lack control over waste disposal in their own homes;

(2) rely on anyone but themselves to pick up after them; and,

(3) As a result of the above two, see leaving garbage scattered around as perfectly sensible.

Nice one, dude.

i was refering to your bullet 2: “2) Indeed, if we don’t dispose of the waste in cemeteries, we will still have to dispose of it at home — which makes us more responsible for and more in control of the way said rubbish is disposed.”

you cant be “in control” if you bring it home, when there are no waste disposal facilities at home.

in fact, during all souls/saints day, there are more waste disposal facilities INSIDE the cemeteries. for some visitors, it would make sense to leave their trash there.

quite frankly, this expectation makes sense — they believe that cemetery mgt will clean up after them, clear out the trashcans that are installed on cemetery grounds, and said mgt does NOTHING to convince them otherwise.

Why is it so difficult for Filipinos to understand a basic value like “Don’t leave your garbage lying around where it shouldn’t” and all that implies? The Japanese get it. The Thai get it. Why can’t proud Pinoys get it?

Complicating the simple, Pinoy style.
Geez.

the missing argument is : are there waste mgt systems at home? maybe not.

It’s not a missing argument, GabbyD, it is precisely the point.

There are none because they aren’t a priority. And why aren’t they priority? Because government officials don’t see it as a priority. And why don’t they? Most likely because they don’t see it as an issue relevant to winning elections. And why isn’t it relevant to winning elections? Because Pinoy voters do not vote on the basis of issues.

the missing argument is : are there waste mgt systems at home? maybe not.

No need to be confused GabbyD:

(1) All living things consume. It’s the nature of the waste and the way we dispose of it that is the issue here.

(2) Indeed, if we don’t dispose of the waste in cemeteries, we will still have to dispose of it at home — which makes us more responsible for and more in control of the way said rubbish is disposed.

(3) True. There is also the issue of not having enough waste storage/disposal facilities in cemeteries during Halloween. But still: Is that a good excuse to litter? There is still the option of taking your rubbish with you and disposing of it properly when you come across the means to do so. Then again in a society where urinating on public walls is a widely-accepted cultural trait, I don’t really blame you for struggling a bit to grasp this concept.

Note how you take each of the three points you make out of context, Mr. GabbyD. Perhaps you will appreciate more how these three points are actually an inter-related aspect of a system when I re-state these ideas in a more coherent fashion; thus:

We need to change the volume and nature of our consumption to reduce the component of it that cannot be naturally degraded or re-used. As we go about this, we need to continue to find sustainable solutions to managing disposal of the component of our waste that cannot be re-used or naturally degraded.

The key to sustainable solutions is to see the issues and challenges we face as a system of inter-related components. That way, we learn to formulate more systemic solutions; ones that address root causes rather than mere symptoms.

I went to Baguio last year and the same problem exists there. There’s an open admission park with an awesome mountain view. There was trash everywhere. Part of this is due to the fact that there weren’t too many trash cans placed in the most popular pathways. The other was the impatience of the people to wait and hang on to their trash while they walk to the nearest trash can. This implies the two sources of the problem: external–municipal action regarding the availability of trash cans and internal–people’s impatience and short-sightedness about the proper disposal of their trash. The result? Everyone loses, the park was a mess.