Lenten prayer petitions offered for Mother Nature

MANILA, Philippines - Over 500 residents of Parañaque, Pasay and Las Piñas held a “Stations of the Cross” procession dubbed as Kalbaryo sa Kalikasan at Kabuhayan (Sacrifice for Nature and Life) to show their support against the planned 635-hectare reclamation project in their area.

Former Las Piñas congresswoman Cynthia Villar was among those who joined the procession. She earlier filed a petition for a writ of kalikasan with the Supreme Court on March 16 against a major land reclamation project along the Bacoor-Las Piñas-Parañaque coastline of the Manila Bay. Alltech Contractors Inc., Philippine Reclamation Authority, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Environmental Management Bureau and the Las Piñas City government were named respondents in the case.

A hydrological study by Tricore Solutions Inc. show that an Ondoy-type of typhoon will lead to the flooding and destruction of affected coastal barangays. In a worst-case scenario, the hydrologist firm predicted that the the project would submerge by .15 meters to 5.12 meters, 37 barangays in the municipality of Bacoor, 17 barangays in Las Piñas and 11 barangays in Parañaque City .

The diocese of Parañaque initiated the Lenten penitence cum prayer rally in protest of the reclamation project. Participants assembled at the grounds of St. Andrew Cathedral along Quirino Avenue in La Huerta, Parañaque City.

The last four “stations of the cross” was put up at the so-called “Freedom Island,” or the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Eco-Tourism Area. It is home to more than 195 species of birds, including some of the most endangered species in the world.