Green advocates urged Filipinos on Saturday to demonstrate respect for the country’s 15th President during the inauguration scheduled on June 30, by keeping the Quirino Grandstand in Manila free from litter.

With tens of thousands of people expected to witness the historic event, littering is going to be a major problem, warned the EcoWaste Coalition, an environmental network of over 100 groups pursuing Zero Waste.

“Let us demonstrate our respect for P-Noy (President-elect Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III) and his commitment to ‘doing the right things’ towards a transformed nation by taking full responsibility for our discards during and after his installation. Please keep P-Noy’s inauguration simple and litter-free that we all can be proud of,” EcoWaste president Roy Alvarez said.

“A litter-free Luneta augurs well for the Aquino presidency and our nation’s continuing quest to build clean and toxic-free communities for our people,” he said.

EcoWaste vice president Romy Hidalgo pointed out that the mass recital of the “Panata sa Pagbabago” that will form part of the inaugural ceremonies “should immediately translate to a collective action of not littering, picking up the trash and leaving Luneta spick-and-span after the rites.”

“We hope that soon after his inauguration P-Noy will launch and carry out an effective public campaign in the next six years to combat littering, an environmental offense, that has undesirably become a national culture of sort,” he said.

The environmentalists reminded the public of Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2001, which specifically bans littering.

An offense is punishable by a fine of P300 to P1,000 or one to 15-day community service or both.

In celebrating a litter-free inauguration, EcoWaste urged the general public to observe simple eco-tips, such as, putting discards into the designated bins or bring an extra bag to carry away trash that may be lured to leave behind in Luneta; bringing own water in reusable jug to avoid buying bottled water or “palamig” in one-time use plastic cup or bag; and refraining from patronizing food sold or served in styrofoam and disposable plastic, return used food wrappers and utensils to the vendors and never litter them anywhere.

The group also advised Filipinos to put chewing gum in a bin after they’re done with it or putting it back into the wrapper if there is no bin close by; and urged not to toss cigarette butts on the ground.

“We also recommend that event organizers shun confetti, fireworks and balloons at the inauguration. In cooperation with the park management, we hope they will put up adequate portable toilets and separate waste bins for biodegradable and non-biodegradable discards in the assembly area,” EcoWaste said.

“Furthermore, we urge concerned groups to refrain from distributing leaflets and similar materials that will most likely end up as trash as we have seen in past election campaign rallies and during the polling day itself. If this cannot be avoided, we urge those who will do so to ensure that they will pick up all littered materials after the inauguration,” it added.