To celebrate the coming New Year, Cove Manila planned a “record-breaking welcome” for 2019. Their event planned to release 130,000 balloons at the strike of midnight, which would set a new world record for a balloon drop. However, this plan quickly earned the outrage of netizens who called it ‘environmentally damaging.’
https://www.facebook.com/covemanila/photos/a.246317522473529/581893885582556/?type=3&theater
These netizens called for the cancellation of the balloon drop through an online petition. In response to the #DropBalloonDrop movement, Cove Manila released this official statement to assure us “that the preservation and protection of the environment is something Cove Manila—and Okada Manila, for that matter—has always been committed to uphold.” They state that: “Cove Manila’s much-anticipated balloon drop is not a whimsical effort to just “play” with thousands of balloons. It is an earnest effort not only to make a new world record for the country, but also to demonstrate that we can have a lot of fun but still remain responsible.”
In line with the public’s concerns, they guarantee that the balloons to be used are biodegradable and that all balloons will be recycled. They also assure us that “the balloon drop has been planned with solid environmental management protocols in place to minimize, if not eliminate, any possible impact on the environment.”
https://www.facebook.com/covemanila/posts/587160108389267
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were then compelled to respond to the situation. In a statement to CNN Philippines, DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu said he directed Cove Manila to cancel the balloon drop. His message was as follows: “I directed Usec. Antiporda, the DENR Undersecretary for Ecological waste management to inform the organizers to reconsider their plan and stop that kind of activity, specifically the use of plastic balloons which could end up in the Manila Bay or thousands [of] plastics scattered as garbage.”
Undersecretary Benny Antiporda also mentioned that Cove Manila may face legal action if they push ahead with their plans, as they would be in violation of Republic Act 9003 or Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
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