So, fellow earthlings, what are you doing for Mother Earth on a day especially dedicated to her? Since Earth Day this year falls on Good Friday, April 22, there are a lot of good things we can do to make amends for all the sins we have committed against the environment even as we piously observe Holy Week or hie off to Bora or Misibis Bay to worship the sun, sea, and sand.
We’ve “crucified” Mother Earth long enough; thus, an environmental watchdog calls on all Christian Filipinos to “put to death” destructive practices not only on Good Friday but all the days of our lives. “We need not hold any bazaar, concert, symposium, protest or parade to commemorate Earth Day, which falls on a Good Friday,” notes Roy Alvarez, president of the EcoWaste Coalition. “What we need is a quiet personal reflection about the state of Mother Earth’s health and an earnest commitment to ‘put to death’ practices that contribute to her ailment, destruction, and demise. We ‘crucify’ Mother Earth every time we recklessly exploit, consume, and terminate the natural gifts of the planet without any thought about the needs of current and future generations.”
EcoWaste Coalition urges everyone to think green this Holy Week. For the one-track minded, being “green-minded” means “cutting back on garbage and pollution, and abstaining from wasteful consumption as part of our spiritual works of penance, charity, and reconciliation,” according to Alvarez.
“A green Holy Week is a timely call in response to the wastefulness and greed that are blatantly trashing our fragile environment. I encourage everyone to plan for an earth-friendly and spiritually-nourishing week,” Bishop Deogracias S. Iñiguez Jr. invites the faithful.
The EcoWaste Coalition has come up with 12 down-to-earth suggestions for a greener — and cleaner — observance of the death and resurrection of Christ the Redeemer.
1. Do not litter, please! Ensure that nothing is wasted or littered as we sweep away the assorted clutter in our souls this Lent. Youth pilgrims, for instance, who will trek to Antipolo City on Maundy Thursday should keep Marcos Highway, Sumulong Highway, and Ortigas Avenue Extension litter-free. Please pick up litter along the “Alay-Lakad” trail and never leave trash behind.
2. Shun disposables. Avoid single-use items such as plastic bags, water bottles, and beverage cups as you spend your Holy Week break.
3. Power down. Drive less to cut fossil fuel use and slash greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming and climate change. Walk, cycle or take the public transportation.
4. Call off expensive, non-essential long-distance trips and give the money saved to the Alay-Kapwa program (http://caritasmanila.org.ph/alay-kapwa) or to your favorite charitable causes.
5. If you are planning a family or barkada (circle of friends) outing to the mountain, lake or the sea, please abide by the eco-creed “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.”
6. Say no to plastic carry bags. Cut your consumption of wasteful plastic bags by bringing your own bayong or reusable shopping bags.
7. Save trees. Bring your own handkerchief or towel to limit the use of disposable tissue while you battle the heat during the Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross), penitential services, and liturgical celebrations.
8. Go for tobacco-free and alcohol-free Pabasa (chant reading of the Passion of Christ). Keep the Pabasa a healthy neighborhood spiritual affair by making the kubol (makeshift structure) and its immediate vicinity a “no smoking, no drinking” zone.
9. Say no to Styro. Choose reusable over disposable cups, plates, and cutlery for meals and drinks served to Pabasa readers; offer native kakanin or vegetarian meals served with plain water, throat-soothing salabat (ginger tea), buko juice, a natural isotonic beverage, or melon palamig (coolers).
10. Avoid overdecorating the carrozas (floats) for the Good Friday Santo Entierro (holy burial) procession, enhancing them only with biodegradable stuff like sampaguita and other natural flowers and plants.
11. Go for simple, eco-friendly Easter Salubong sans firecrackers and confetti to commemorate the heavenly encounter between the risen Christ and Mater Dolorosa (sorrowing mother). Let us learn from the Salubong firecracker accident that injured churchgoers in Our Lady of Loreto Parish in Sampaloc, Manila last year. Paper and plastic confetti can be substituted with petals and leaves, which can be composted after the event.
12. If you are planning to do an Easter egg hunt, use only natural ingredients or dyes to color the eggs. Promote a healthy and balanced diet by not giving kids junk food treats.
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Coins may change your life
Now, this letter may change the way you look at coins:
Dear Consumerline,
Thank you for your timely column entitled “The winds of change: Respect the centavo” which appeared in the April 12 edition of The Philippine STAR as a reaction to a letter you received from Edna Ledesma.
We at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) support the right of Filipino consumers to receive exact change for all their transactions. This is the reason why the BSP continuously produce and distribute coins across the country.
In fact, we now have in circulation 16.3 billion pieces of coins in various denominations with a total face value of P18.2 billion (huwag ismolin ang barya). This means that the ratio of coins to our population is more than 170 pieces for each Filipino, including babies and our faraway overseas workers. However, since most Filipinos habitually keep their coins imprisoned for long periods in huge coin banks or completely forgotten in various containers, not enough coins are left to circulate in our economy.
We deeply appreciate your appeal therefore for our people to respect the centavo, to stop hoarding coins, and to keep coins recirculating. For your information, the BSP has been reminding Filipinos to use coins regularly — whether as pambayad, panukli or pangkawang-gawa. The BSP has also enlisted the cooperation of various groups for our coin recirculation campaign, including retailers, supermarkets, petroleum dealers, drivers, churches, banks, and schools. Thus, we are moving forward together in addressing consumer concerns related to coins.
The value of coins is also taught in public elementary schools under the joint program of the Bangko Sentral and the Department of Education: “Tulong Barya Para sa Eskewela,” a nationwide coin collection and fundraising campaign for the benefit of public elementary schools. So far, “Tulong Barya Para sa Eskwela” has raised over P13 million in cash for public elementary schools and generated cost savings for the BSP, part of which was used to donate 510 brand-new computers to public elementary schools.
Indeed, wealth creation can start with coins. Thus, our coin recirculation campaign tagline is “Ang barya mahalaga, lalo na kapag pinag-samasama.” We will continue to update you and your readers about our activities related to coin recirculation and “Tulong Barya Para sa Eskwela. In the meantime, we encourage your readers to give us their comments and feedback. I can be reached at fdelacruz@bsp.gov.ph.
FE M. DE LA CRUZ
Director, Corporate Affairs Office
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
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We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at ching_alano@yahoo.com.