MANILA (UCAN): Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, and Bishop Arturo M. Bastes of Sorsogon, raised the alarm about rising sea levels that are making Manila one of the fastest-sinking cities in the world.
“Attention coastal parishes in Navotas and Malabon [coastal cities] … Let us please put the climate crisis among our top pastoral priorities for social action,” Bishop David wrote on his Facebook page, referring to a report by Greenpeace East Asia claiming that by 2030 Manila’s densely populated land area would become a lake.
According to the study, the sea level has been rising at “unprecedented rates” over the past decade due to climate change caused by environmental abuse.
At least 87 per cent of 37 square kilometres of the city’s land will feel the impact of floods in 10 years, meaning more than 1.54 million Manila residents would be displaced, the report said.
Bishop David said parishioners have long felt the effects of floods and the rise of coastal waters due to typhoons, yet many had continued throwing garbage into bodies of water.
“We have felt the continuing and extreme sea level rise in the past decades because of climate change. Now we are being threatened with the sinking of our coastlines and floods that would displace millions of our people and destroy billions in our economy. So please, let us take care of our environment,” Bishop David added, citing another study pointing to a rise of the sea level of Manila Bay by 13.24 millimetres per year.
‘We have reports and data saying that Metro Manila is sinking by a rate of 10 centimetres yearly due to the over-extraction of groundwater within the region. The more water we extract, the more that we are sinking’
Bishop Pablo Virgilio David
“We have reports and data saying that Metro Manila is sinking by a rate of 10 centimetres yearly due to the over-extraction of groundwater within the region. The more water we extract, the more that we are sinking,” he added.
The bishop urged people not to rely only on government support when it comes to addressing climate change and other environmental concerns.
“The Earth is our common home. Let us address it together—personally, within our families, by lessening our trash and saving our tap water. All these little things contribute in letting our environment heal. Otherwise, we will vanish with it,” Bishop David said.
Meanwhile, Bishop Bastes warned that greed would be the key to humanity’s doom if it runs unchecked. “Our greed for money up to the point of exploiting our environment as a common home is central in resolving climate change. Pope Francis was clear about this in his encyclical, Laudato Si’,” he said.
“I hope the government sees this issue [rising sea levels] as pressing like the pandemic. The pandemic is no reason for us to degrade the environment,” Bishop Bastes added.
