Bishop urges faithful to pray for rain

MANILA, Philippines — Tagbilaran Bishop Alberto Uy is urging Filipinos to pray for rain, declaring that extreme heat experienced nationwide may be God’s way of teaching people to take better care of the environment.

By experiencing extreme heat, people would have a better understanding of the importance of caring for the environment, Uy said yesterday over Church-run Radio Veritas.

“We are waiting on God to turn things around. But maybe God is using the situation for us to change. He made us experience extreme heat so we no longer abuse nature and the environment,” he said.

The state weather bureau earlier said the heat index in the Philippines could reach an “extreme danger” level of 57 degrees Celsius after Iba, Zambales on Sunday recorded 53 degrees Celsius.

Extreme heat will persist until the second week of May, it noted.

Meanwhile in Angeles City, Pampanga, Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. encouraged residents to set up gardens in their houses to aid the city government’s mitigation plan against extreme heat.

Residents can avail free seedlings of lemon, atis, guyabano, santol, langka, kamansi, papaya and kalamansi to start their own urban garden, he said.

A total of 55,000 ornamental, herbal, fruit-bearing, vegetable and forestry plants or trees are available at the City Agriculture Office, Lazatin said.

The city government, the Department of Education and other non-government organizations are set to plant 50,000 seedlings in May amid extensive reforestation efforts at the Angeles City Watershed.

Seedlings will also be planted in open spaces and public schools.

Among seedlings to be planted are narra, molave, dau, poay, bamboo, Palawan cherry blossom, balibago, bitaug, tinik, dita, white lawan, kamagong, kiling, malaruat, toog, malalangka, malabulak, dungon and ipil.

Assorted fruit-bearing trees will also be planted: mulberry, guava, anunas, guyabano, jackfruit, atis, lipote, mangoes, duhat, kamansi, santol, kasoy, avocado, macopa, chesa, American lemon and rambutan. — Ric Sapnu