Indonesia, Asean’s bad neighbor

THOSE who were out and about yesterday around Metro Manila may have noticed an odd, dull quality to the sunlight on what was otherwise a fair and pleasant day.

While it has not yet been determined what the possible source of the gloom is – after all, Metro Manila is not exactly a monument to good air quality – there is growing concern and more than a little circumstantial evidence the haze is the result of the widespread and still growing forest fires in Indonesia. These have already been blamed for hazy conditions in several parts of Mindanao and the Visayas, where the phenomenon has even inspired a new word: “smaze,” a portmanteau of “smoke” and “haze.”