Today, I would like to express my full support for the initiatives of our City Government in addressing the serious problem of garbage management in Cebu.

But I would also like to say something very important, something very simple, and something very true: The real solution to the garbage problem is not in machines. It is in changing habits.

No technology, no equipment, no landfill, no budget will ever be enough if our daily habits remain the same.

Because garbage is not first a city problem. Garbage is a lifestyle problem.

GARBAGE BEGINS AT HOME

Most of the waste we see on the streets did not begin there. It began inside homes.

It began when we did not segregate. It began when we used plastic without thinking. It began when we threw something away carelessly, believing it would simply “disappear.”

But nothing truly disappears. It only goes somewhere else—to rivers, to seas, to dumpsites, and eventually back to us.

THIS IS A MORAL AND SPIRITUAL RESPONSIBILITY

As Christians, we believe that creation is a gift from God entrusted to us. We are not owners of this earth. We are stewards. To throw garbage irresponsibly is not only bad citizenship. It is poor stewardship. It is forgetting that God entrusted this beautiful island of Cebu to our care.

Caring for the environment is not optional for Christians. It is part of our faith.

SMALL HABITS, BIG IMPACT

The solution is not complicated:

• Segregate waste at home
• Reduce single-use plastics
• Reuse what can still be used
• Compost biodegradable waste
• Teach children to be disciplined with trash

These are small acts. But when done by thousands of families every day, they become powerful.

A CALL TO OUR PARISHES, SCHOOLS, AND COMMUNITIES

I ask our parishes, schools, religious communities, and organizations to lead by example:

• Practice proper waste segregation
• Avoid plastic in parish events
• Teach environmental responsibility in catechism and classrooms
• Show that faith and care for creation go together

Let our churches be models of discipline and responsibility.

A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

I humbly ask every Cebuano Catholic: Do not wait for the government to solve this problem for you. Be part of the solution.

Because the cleaner Cebu we desire will not come from machines. It will come from changed hearts and changed habits.

LET US REMEMBER

The real solution to the garbage problem is not in machines. It is in changing habits.

May our love for God be seen in the way we care for His creation. May our faith be seen in the discipline of our daily actions.

And may future generations inherit a Cebu that is cleaner, healthier, and more beautiful than the one we have today.

With my prayers and blessings,

+Alberto S. Uy
Archbishop of Cebu