DUE TO the COVID-19 pandemic, the turnout of people in cemeteries is expected to be lower this year. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is closing cemeteries, memorial parks and columbaria from Oct. 2 9 to Nov. 2, so people have started visiting their departed loved ones ahead of the closure; others are expected to do their visits after Nov. 2.
Even so, this has not prevented many from littering cemeteries. Repeated reminders from the government, church and environmentalists appear to be no match for these hardened litterbugs.
Among the discards typically left by cemetery visitors are disposable food and beverage containers (paper, plastic and Styrofoam), food leftovers, snack packs, plastic bags, used matchsticks, cigarette butts, and soiled papers. Sidewalks, street corners, vacant lots and desolated graves became instant dumping grounds for uncaring visitors.
It’s not unusual to see people sitting or praying next to piles of garbage that could pose health risks – an unsettling sight scarier than Halloween costumes and ghosts.
This pervasive littering that taints the nation’s long-standing tradition of paying respect to beloved deceased family members and friends makes a mockery of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. Some people conveniently forget that the law prohibits and penalizes the indiscriminate disposal of waste. Worse, the enforcement of this law is very lax, and this encourages individuals to strew garbage on hallowed resting places.
The culture of throwing discards wherever and whenever it is convenient is spoiling our time-honored tradition of remembering our departed relatives. It’s okay to leave flowers in the cemetery, but not garbage. Cemeteries are places of prayer, not dumpsites. It is unacceptable to leave trash, big or small, in the final resting place of the dead. It’s not only disrespectful; it is a downright assault on the environment of both the living and the dead.
