EcoWaste Coalition Pushes for Ecological Traslacion 2025 to Honor Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno
Ecological Traslacion: Members of the EcoWaste Coalition gather in Quiapo, Manila to advocate for waste avoidance and reduction in the upcoming feast of the Black Nazarene, stressing that a clean conduct of the Traslacion should be part of the people's devotion to Jesus Nazareno.
7 January 2025, Quiapo, Manila. Following the theme of this year's feast of the Black Nazarene “Mas Mabuti ang Pagsunod kaysa Paghahandog sa mga Umaasa kay Hesus,” the zero waste advocacy group EcoWaste Coalition
gathered this morning outside Quiapo Church to encourage devotees to express their faith through ecological action that minimizes trash and protects the environment.
With millions expected to participate in the Traslacion on January 9, the group felt the need to reach out to the faithful to remind them of the importance of avoiding the generation of garbage and keeping the processional route litter-free as they profess their undying devotion to Jesus Nazareno.
As the feast of the Black Nazarene will now be celebrated as a liturgical feast in dioceses nationwide, it is all the more important to celebrate it in way that corresponds with the bishops' call for ecological action, the EcoWaste Coalition said.
At the 128th Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) last July 2024, the bishops identifed six key eco-actions, including supporting efforts to eradicate plastic pollution.
"Our advocacy for reduced use and disposal of single-use plastics during the massive feast of the Black Nazarene is a concrete way of putting the bishops' call for ecological action into practice," said Ochie Tolentino, Zero Waste Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
Among the most common littered items in past celebrations of the feast of the Black Nazarene were single-use plastics such as plastic water bottles and cups, polystyrene food containers, plastic cutlery, plastic bags and wrappers, and even plastic cigarette butts and disposable vapes.
"As our nation is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, we are challenged to integrate our duty to care for God's creation in all aspects of our lives, including in the celebration of our faith," said Tolentino.
"By taking simple steps such as avoiding single-use plastics, not littering, sorting our discards and putting them in designated receptacles, we honor not only our faith but also our responsibility to protect the environment," she added.
During the event, the EcoWaste Coalition exhorted the clergy and the laity to take concrete steps to prevent and reduce waste as they celebrate the feast of the Black Nazarene in their parish communities.
The group also recited a "Panalangin ng Bayan" dedicated to a peaceful, orderly and ecological conduct of the Traslacion 2025, and for the well-being of all the devotees and Mother Earth.
The event concluded with a mini-parade and clean-up in the vicinity of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno, reinforcing the message of combining faith with environmental stewardship.
To drive the message home, community members of the EcoWaste Coalition from Tondo, Manila held broomsticks and dust pans and donned sandwich placards with timely reminders stressing "kalakip ng debosyon ang malinis na Traslacion."
"We hope that our people's enduring and unparalleled devotion to Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno could evolve to reflect our shared responsibility to care for our common home as Pope Francis has pleaded in his encyclical Laudato Si," the group concluded.
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