Catholics on Homonhon island take part in a procession of the Blessed Sacrament to commemorate the arrival of Magellan and his expedition on the island in 1521. (Photo supplied)
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.
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.
The Spanish together with several friars were met by a local chieftain called Rajah Culambu, who later guided them to Cebu on April 7.
The tree planting on March 15, along with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, commemorated the event when Magellan and his companions landed on Philippine soil.
“Through this [tree planting], we encourage and remind Christians to be responsible and to be good stewards of God’s creation. While we plant to remember our Catholic roots, we also plant to remember that we are stewards of God’s creation,” said Father Christian Ofilan of Borongan Diocese at the event.
More than 500 local people helped plant the trees together with the Polish chargé d’affaires to the Philippines, Karoslaw Szczepankiewicz.
Father Ofilan said they chose to plant trees because of a lack of them on the island due to mining activities.
“Homonhon is rich in minerals like chromite, nickel and iron ore, which is why we have mining activities here. Sadly, we have forgotten to take care of the environment,” he added.
Catholics on the island said they had an obligation to protect the environment from abuse and degradation.
“Protecting the environment is part of the Christian message. We’ve had mining operations here since the 1990s. Now it is time to give back to our beloved island what it deserves — a greener environment,” said Loren Arevalo, a participant in the tree planting.
Arevalo thanked Borongan Diocese for taking a role in rehabilitating the environment on the island.
Carl Bordeos, the curator of a local museum, described Homonhon as "hallowed ground" that has been desecrated by mining corporations.
“The 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,” said Bordeos on social media.
He said it was not too late for people to try and save Magellan’s “paradise” and revive its ancient springs.
“When 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’re gone. That’s why we need to plant trees,” Bordeos said.
“We need to preserve this historic island and source of pride of the Philippines and our Catholic faith.”
