'Pinoys should buy food instead of firecrackers'

The Catholic Church and an environmental group appealed to Filipinos yesterday to buy food for their families instead of firecrackers to welcome the New Year.

In a joint statement, the Care for the Earth Ministry of the Our Lady of Remedies Parish and the EcoWaste Coalition also urged the public to shift from the usual firecrackers to alternative ways of celebrating the New Year such as the use of other noisemakers like the simple torotot or paper trumpets.

“Given the sad state of the economy and the environment and the growing number of hungry households, I find it totally inappropriate to be spending for costly firecrackers and fireworks while poor people forage the bins and dumps for food,” said Father John Leydon, parish priest of the Our Lady of Remedies, who also expressed deep concern over the persistent New Year’s Eve violence.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS) earlier reported that 23.7 percent of Filipino families or 4.3 million families are suffering from involuntary hunger, the highest figure recorded since the agency started its quarterly reports on hunger in 1998.

The groups said: “The dangerous, polluting and pricey ritual of blasting firecrackers to greet the New Year is grossly out of place as the country faces tough financial times amidst the record-high number of hungry families and increasingly degrading the environment.”

“The money thrown away for few minutes of flicker and sparkle that emit toxic smoke and dirt which can cause ill health, while terrifying powerless animals, should be spent wisely for a healthy and nutritious media noche on New Year’s Eve,” said Manny Calonzo, EcoWaste Coalition’s president.

“Also, funds allocated for multi-million peso pyrotechnic display being planned by public and private entities are better spent to bring real food to the tables of hungry Filipinos,” Calonzo added.

The groups held an activity yesterday dubbed, “Iwas PapuTOXIC” in front of the Malate Church in Manila.

Twenty five children from the parish displayed their emission-free recycled noisemakers such as torotot from used paper, tambourines from used bottle crowns and maracas from used cans, while others held mock firecrackers that were labeled “toxic to humans,” “toxic to animals” and “toxic to the environment.” – Helen Flores