Holy smoke! Let’s listen to the Pope’s plea

The whole world watched in awe (some in near tears) as Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, was installed as the 267th head of the Catholic Church last March 13. He was the first non-European pope since Pope Saint Gregory III, a Syrian priest, was elected in the 8th century. He took the name of Francis of Assisi, who gave up everything (his father, a merchant, made an embarrassment of riches) to follow Christ and do all that He did. St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment.

Inspired by the life of St. Francis, Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio himself lived simply, cooking his own meals and commuting to work. His simple pleasures include watching movies and going to the opera. He also loves football.

The Roman Catholic world got a foretaste of the kind of church the new Pope would lead when he came out on the Vatican balcony on his first day, garbed in a simple immaculate white robe sans embellishments except for his old pectoral cross from his days as a bishop. With the new Pope, the whole world should expect a much more modest and thrifty Vatican.

Following in Pope Francis’ revered footsteps, a waste and pollution watchdog appeals to Catholic Filipinos to heed the Pope’s holy plea for environmental protection.

In a statement issued before Palm Sunday, the EcoWaste Coalition echoed the call made by Pope Francis last Tuesday for the people to be “protectors of the environment.”

At his inaugural Mass at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, the Pope addressed the faithful: “Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.”



“The Holy Week is a timely occasion to affirm our role as stewards of God’s creation,” says Ochie Tolentino, EcoWaste Coalition vice president.

“Regardless of your age, gender, job, and possession, you can do something real and beautiful to protect Mother Earth and help her recover from the ill effects of human excesses. For example, you can start by consuming responsibly such as not wasting rice, not dropping any litter and not dumping or burning your discards.”

She stresses,

“Let us join in this common task of protecting our fragile environment from being further degraded, especially during the Holy Week and beyond.”

Leading the way  to ecological conversion, the EcoWaste Coalition encourages the faithful to include the following “6Rs” as “acts of penance and reconciliation with the environment”:



1. Resist the consumption of single-use, disposable products in favor of eco-friendly substitutes that can be reused a number of times.  For example, use a water jug instead of buying bottled water.



2. Refuse plastic bags and proudly use our native bayong and other reusable carry bags and containers when you go to your favorite sari-sari store, palengke or supermarket.



3. Reject products packed in excessive paper and/or plastic materials.  Look for and patronize products with less packaging.



4. Reject all acts of littering from throwing cigarette butts out of car windows, tossing candy wrappers on the streets, spitting on pavements, to not picking up after your dog.



5. Refrain from driving a car for your Visita Iglesia and other Holy Week activities. Save gas: walk, cycle, take the pedicab, jeepney or bus, or car pool in fulfilling your spiritual vows.



6. Reduce electricity and water usage.  Consume less by avoiding wastage and following basic conservation tips such as by turning out lights, unplugging appliances when not in use, and fixing dripping faucets and pipes.



“These ‘6Rs’ are simple starters towards eco-living.  Why not challenge yourself on how much you can do without, and discover just how little you really need.  You and I can definitely do more to lessen our impact on our fragile planet,” Tolentino concludes.

Holy smoke! Let’s all listen to this holy plea, shall we?

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Be one step ahead of the market

In my recent visits to groceries and other stores, I noticed more and more people with pens and paper in their hands while scrutinizing items and their labels with a fine-toothed comb. I can’t help sneaking a peek at their lists and it’s sad to note that their lists are not as full as I remember. The items listed barely fill a page of paper. 

Is it true that people are now starting to save up? Isn’t it puzzling how the Philippines is classified as a third world country yet we have world-class shopping destinations and almost everyone changes cellphones as often as they change their socks? With that in mind, I don’t think people are starting to get thrifty. I believe it’s the price hikes and the immovable wages that force people to  tighten their belts to the extent that they learn how to budget properly and stretch their money as far as it can go.

Luckily, Pinoys are known to be a smart, resilient people — or wais, cunning, and very resourceful by nature. And the answer to cope with the ever trying times is the ever-so-popular sachet or the tingi pack whose rise was probably the best thing that happened in the war against commodity price hikes. In fact, take a look around and you will notice that it has become so popular that almost everything can be purchased by the tingi. It makes all necessities affordable without sacrificing preferred brands. Yes, you end up making more trips to the market, but the good news is people can have all the products they need to last them until the next paycheck.

This is not just good for the consumers but also for the manufacturers because by producing smaller packs, people who usually go for cheaper alternatives can now afford their product. Plus, producers are able to take advantage of the middle and lower classes’ aspiration to experience the same luxuries the upper classes enjoy. They now cater to a wider spectrum of consumers who patronize their brands.

Small, medium, big, and extra-large, with all the sizes to choose from, where can we get bigger savings? Ideally, things come cheaper as their quantities go higher. It’s the same concept as wholesale; there are savings on packaging, time, labor, and resources. Logically, the term “cheaper by the bulk” is not just an expression, which is why it is quite alarming to notice some manufacturers pricing their items differently.

The popular anti-dandruff shampoo, Head and Shoulders cool menthol, for example, has a bundle of six 10ml sachets priced at P27.75 and a big 675ml bottle priced at P354.75. By comparing their prices per ml, the results show a seven-centavo disparity. That’s a P47.25 difference between the sachet’s and the bottle’s 675ml quantities. Clearly, there are much more savings in sachets.

 Come to think of it, I bet most practical shoppers who buy the bigger bottles don’t realize that they actually pay more than those budget-constrained people who regularly buy sachets. They are blinded by the common belief of practicality in bulk buying. It’s just sad that shampoo prices are not covered by the DTI’s regulation. For now, it would be best if consumers took a closer look at the differently sized offerings before choosing.

To cope with today’s trying times, people must become wise consumers rather than just being thrifty. People should be wais enough to not fall for the confusing pricing schemes that further take our hard-earned cash from our pockets like a thief in the night.