Earth Day rites moved to April 25

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has signed Administrative Order 12 moving the Earth Day celebration to April 25 from April 22, which falls on Good Friday.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa noted that Good Friday is also a non-working holiday.

“The President deems it best to move Earth Day celebrations to April 25 this year to allow more people to participate in the activities and make the occasion more meaningful,” he said in a statement.

Earth Day celebrations -coordinated worldwide by the Earth Day Network -are held to promote awareness on the need for environmental conservation because of the adverse effects of climate change.

Climate Change Commission (CCC) urges the public to “fast” for the environment this Holy Week by cutting back on “wasteful consumption habits.”

“A withdrawal from our wasteful consumption habits, a cutback of a meal a day, could provide some relief to our beleaguered environment and drive home the point that the solution to the degradation of our environment would be the disciplined use of energy like electricity and gasoline, water and food, forest and all other resources,” said CCC commissioner Heherson Alvarez.

Sen. Loren Legarda urged Filipino Catholics to include in their reflection this Holy Week the present state of the environment.

“As we celebrate this year’s Earth Day, which coincides with the Holy Week, we must rekindle our relationship with nature. As stewards of God’s creation, let us reflect on how we treat the benefits we receive from our natural resources,” she said. – With Rhodina Villanueva, Christina Mendez