Environment group calls for cleaner Nazarene procession

An environment group on Tuesday called on devotees of the Black Nazarene to show real homage by keeping Saturday’s feast clean and safe. EcoWaste Coalition, a waste and pollution watchdog, voiced fears that this year’s 403rd Feast of the Black Nazarene may make Quiapo’s streets “carpeted" with trash. "We hope that the large-scale breach of R.A. 9003 that tainted the celebration last year will not happen again. Our pious devotion to the Black Nazarene merits no less than a clean and safe fiesta for all," said EcoWaste Coalition’s president Manny Calonzo in an article posted on the EcoWaste official blog. Republic Act 9003, or the Solid Waste Management Act, bans littering and fines violators P300 to P1,000 or up to 15 days of community service.

In 2009, 19 trucks of trash weighing a total of 124 tons were collected from Quiapo’s streets after the procession, according to data cited by EcoWaste from Manila’s Department of Public Service (DPS). Around 350 street sweepers will man the procession route on Saturday as devotees are expected to turn up in the millions, said Juan de la Cruz of Manila’s DPS in a phone interview with GMANews.TV. De la Cruz added that they might place only "a few" trash bins, saying that overflowing garbage is an "eyesore" and will just be swept from the streets. EcoWaste lamented that in last year's celebration, bamboo skewers, cigarette butts, plastic bottles and drinking cups, plastic bags, Styrofoam containers and food leftovers were left lying on street gutters and corners. "The wastefulness of the Quiapo fiesta dishonors the Black Nazarene to whom many Filipinos come begging for deliverance and healing, especially from poverty and ailments that could have been aggravated by unhealthy environment," Calonzo said. "We trust that the clergy and the laity, led by the Hijos del Señor Nazareno, will exercise responsible stewardship over the environment as the great feast is observed," he added. The group also appealed to the Hijos del Señor Nazareno, who will be in charge of the procession, to assign a person or team to promote and ensure devotees’ cooperation for an eco-friendly devotion. The city government has also issued a traffic advisory in time for Saturday’s procession, which usually takes hours from the Quirino Grandstand to the Quiapo Church. with a report from Nikka Corsino/RSJ, GMANews.TV