By Ellalyn V. Ruiz
As thousands of Filipinos head to the provinces for the Holy Week, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has appealed to the public to incorporate nature-conscious practices to make the annual observance as environment-friendly as possible.
DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu acknowledged that aside from reflection and meditation, the Holy Week for most people also means long vacation and a great time to frolic at the beach.
It is only proper to remind the public against turning the country’s beaches into dumpsites, he said.
“Let us all be reminded of the basics – reduce, reuse, and recycle,” Cimatu, who is in charge of the rehabilitation of Boracay Island and other beach destinations in the country, pointed out.
With the huge number of people and activities, solid waste like plastic bags, food waste, wrappers, and sachets are likely to accumulate.
“In the past weeks, we have seen how many of our prime beaches, particularly Boracay, El Nido, and Puerto Galera, to name a few, have suffered from degradation. The sad thing is that destruction is not confined to these areas alone,” the DENR chief said.
“When our seas are polluted, marine life is affected, fishermen have less to catch, and the very waters that provide livelihood to many through ecotourism cease to be a source of income,” he added.
Cimatu said the planned closure of Boracay should serve as a wake-up call for everyone to become good stewards of the environment.
“It does not take much to keep our environment clean. Every effort, when taken together, will result to clean water, clean air, clean land, healthy forests, and rich biodiversity. Let’s all do our share,” he said.