{"id":23787,"date":"2021-03-17T04:23:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T08:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/filipinos-give-environmental-twist-to-500th-anniversary\/"},"modified":"2021-03-17T04:23:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T08:23:00","slug":"filipinos-give-environmental-twist-to-500th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/filipinos-give-environmental-twist-to-500th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Filipinos give environmental twist to 500th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Catholics planted 500 trees on the island of Homonhon in Samar province to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed on the shores of Homonhon on March 17, 1521, to gather food while on a Spanish expedition that saw one of his vessels become the first to circumnavigate the world.<\/p>\n

The Spanish together with several friars were met by a local chieftain called Rajah Culambu, who later guided them to Cebu on April 7.<\/p>\n

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The tree planting on March 15,\u00a0along with a\u00a0procession of the Blessed Sacrament, commemorated the event when Magellan and his companions landed on Philippine soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough this [tree planting], we encourage and remind Christians to be responsible and to be good stewards of God\u2019s creation. While we plant to remember our Catholic roots, we also plant to remember that we are stewards of God\u2019s creation,\u201d said Father Christian Ofilan of Borongan Diocese at the event.<\/p>\n

More than 500 local people helped plant the trees together with the Polish charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires to the Philippines, Karoslaw Szczepankiewicz.<\/p>\n

Father Ofilan said they chose to plant trees because of a lack of them on the island due to mining activities.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHomonhon is rich in minerals like chromite, nickel and iron ore,\u00a0which is why we have mining activities here. Sadly, we have forgotten to take care of the environment,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Catholics on the island said they had an obligation to protect the environment from abuse and degradation.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtecting the environment is part of the Christian message. We\u2019ve had mining operations here since the 1990s. Now it is time to give back to our beloved island what it deserves \u2014 a greener environment,\u201d said Loren Arevalo, a participant in the tree planting.<\/p>\n

Arevalo thanked \u00a0Borongan Diocese for taking a role in rehabilitating the environment on the island.<\/p>\n

Carl Bordeos, the curator of a local museum, described Homonhon as “hallowed ground” that has been desecrated by mining corporations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe island was once a sacred place to our ancestors. But Homonhon today is being killed at a fast rate by mining companies 500 years after Magellan’s historic landing,\u201d said Bordeos on social media.<\/p>\n

He said it was not too late for people to try and save Magellan\u2019s \u201cparadise\u201d and revive its ancient springs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Spaniards came, they stayed on the island for eight days because of our clear, cold and potable water that came from our springs. Now they\u2019re gone. That\u2019s why we need to plant trees,\u201d Bordeos said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to preserve this historic island and source of pride of the Philippines and our Catholic faith.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n