CIRCULAR NO. 14/96-PROTECTION OF THE CEBU WATERSHED

June 14, 1996

TO: ALL PARISH PRIEST

My Dear Brother Priests:

Peace!

I would like to call your attention to an issue of utmost importance to the survival of our beloved Cebu. In the past few years, the island of Cebu has been experiencing an unprecedented economic growth that has streatched the island’s resources to the limit. While the present generation is reaping the fruits of this so-called “ecomic boom”, the unmitigated use and abuse of our resources will deplete whatever might be needed to sustain development.

Nowhere is this depletion more apparent than in the water supply of the island, particularly within Metro Cebu, where salt water intrusion is threatening  the very lifeblood of Ceby City and its environs. As if the problem were not serious enough, developers have started to encroach on the island’s major watershed. Instead of reforesting the watershed ot replenish the island’s receding water table, the government seems bent on looking for other alternatives.

We need to address this situation squarely because as the Holy Father Pope John Paul II tells us in his letter to Cardinal Arinze, “.. we have a moral dury to use these resources wisely, taking into account not only our present needs but also the future generations. This is the moral obligation of solidarity, a serious responsibility involving each one of us as individuals and all of us together in society and in the international community.”

Realizing the urgency of the problem and owning  our responsibility to the future generations, may I therefore call on you and your parish pastoral councils to spearhead an organized campaign for the protection of our watersheds.

Your primary duty as parish priests in this regard is to inform yourselves of the technical aspects of the problem and to pass on the same knowledge to your pastoral council. A massive information campaign to educate the people is then called for to mobilize them into peaceful and constructive activities.

There is a need to identify in your own localities the watersheds which require reforestation and protection. You can then initiate tie-ups with the local government concerned or with non-government organizations to educate the people, to harness their cooperation in the development and protection of the designated areas, and possibly to offer alternative sources of livelihood to those who will be affected of displaced.

With no less than the future of our island at stake, no one can remain apathetic to this cause, I am obliging you to take an active part in this campaign, in solidarity with the archdiocesan initiatives. I know that with you and your pastoral council at the forefront the parishioners will not be far behind.

In protecting our environment, we truly assume our divine filiation and claim our birthright as inheritors of the earth. As Saint Paul writes to the Romans, “the whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons”. (Rom. 8:19). Would that creation finally “enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God”.

With my paternal blessing, I remain

Sincerely in the Lord,

RICARDO J. CARDINAL VIDAL

Archbishop of Cebu

By Mandate of the Archbishop:

(SGD.) MSGR. ADELITO A. ABELLA, H.P.

Chancellor