Group calls for waste-free Feast of the Black Nazarene

A local anti-pollution watchdog yesterday urged devotees and participants of the annual Feast Day of the Black Nazarene to have a “waste-free” celebration.

In separate letters to the administration of the Basilica Minore of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church) and barangay leaders in the area, the Ecological Waste Coalition (EcoWaste) said authorities and believers alike should pay attention to the garbage generated during the festivity, and be conscious about the importance of caring for the environment as part of their devotion.

“Show your devotion to the beloved Señor Nazareno by dumping no garbage,” the EcoWaste appealed to millions of devotees who are expected to attend the grand feast day of the famed Black Nazarene of Quiapo on Jan. 9.

According to Manny Calonzo, secretary of EcoWaste, the mounds of garbage left on Plaza Miranda after the recent New Year revelry, as shown on national television, prompted the environmental network to approach the church and barangay leaders.

“We have requested Monsignor Jose Clemente Ignacio and some of the concerned barangay captains to enjoin residents and visitors not to spoil the feast of the Black Nazarene with litter,” Calonzo said.

“Our pious devotion to the Black Nazarene should also find expression in the way we treat the streets of Quiapo and care for the environment,” he added.

In its letter, EcoWaste proposed the inclusion of ecological reminders in the homilies and suggested that slides be shown before and after the Masses to encourage the faithful not to litter or unmindfully throw garbage during the festivities.

EcoWaste said that barangay chairmen Josie Dee (Barangay 306), Tessie Sharief (Barangay 384), Rudy Chua (392), Rosie Ruz (Barangay 393) and Goyang Lipana (Barangay 394) have all agreed to put up banners to remind the public to care for the environment during the celebration.

“We hope that the maroon-clad ardent devotees of Señor Nazareno will also serve as models for green values that our nation very much needs to clean up our streets and communities and bring back the health of our degraded environment,” the group said.

EcoWaste likewise called the attention of fiesta organizers “to plan the feast with the environment in mind” and offered its “Guidelines for Zero Waste Fiestas” as source of practical tips towards an eco-friendly celebration of faith and life.

The guidelines, the group noted, include the four basic steps outlined by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin when he exhorted the faithful to make the 2003 World Meeting of Families a “zero waste celebration of life.”