Amid criticism, club cancels balloon drop event

MANILA, Philippines — Nightclub Cove Manila canceled its supposed record-breaking balloon drop event for New Year’s countdown amid criticism from social media users and environmental advocacy groups.

The club said in a statement that it received a letter from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources “encouraging” Okada Manila to cancel the event on Sunday.

While the club insisted that the planned “balloon dropping event will not harm the environment,” Okada Manila’s management said it has “voluntarily decided” to scrap the event as a sign of respect to the DENR.

Okada Manila manages Cove Manila, the organziers of the event.

READ: New Year's Eve balloon drop 'environmentally sound,' club says

In an earlier release, Cove Manila said that the event “is not a whimsical effort to just ‘play’ with thousands of balloons. It is an earnest effort for not only to make a new world record for the country, but also to demonstrate that we can have a lot of fun but still remain responsible.”

It added that the balloons that would be used are biodegradable and would later be recycled creatively.

According to reports, the DENR said that they urged the event organizers to stop their world-record attempt "considering the country’s problem with solid waste.”

This echoed the concerns raised by social media users and environmental advocacy groups calling for the cancellation of the event.

The Climate Reality Project Philippines stressed that even if the event would be done indoors, the balloons “if not recycled, will end up as waste in landfills and other areas which will harm wildlife, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and even clog sewage systems, among others.”

Human rights organization and climate justice advocacy group DAKILA said that the planned event “adds to the plastic pollution and poses serious threat to our environment.”

The group also launched an online petition that gathered more than 65,000 signatures from netizens.

After the cancellation of the event, DAKILA thanked Cove Manila for taking action. “Let’s go back to our very own selves and practice refusing and reducing waste, and live sustainable lifestyles.” — Kristine Joy Patag