Prelate urges faithful not to waste water on St. John feast

FILE: St. John the Baptist festival celebration in San Juan City (Photo Courtesy of Public Information Department San Juan City Official Website via PNA)

MANILA — A bishop on Saturday appealed to the faithful to refrain from using water to celebrate the feast of St. John the Baptist on Monday, June 24 as the country is experiencing a water supply shortage.

“It is very advisable and within a very good cause that we refrain from dousing/playing with water as celebrate the feast of St. John the Baptist,” Bataan Bishop Ruperto Santos said in a text message.

He instead urged the public to save water and use it only for their daily needs.

“With our situation now where water is so precious let us conserve it and use it to our very necessary needs. And in solidarity with other towns and cities where water is being rationed, interrupted let us not misuse water,” Santos said.

Santos said the faithful celebrate the Christian event by attending Eucharistic Celebration and pray for God to provide us rain.

“To celebrate the feast of Saint John the Baptist let us go to Holy Mass and intercede him to bless us with necessary rain waters. To commemorate his life, let us renew and fulfill our baptismal promises; and to heed the appeal of Jesus “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink” (Mt 25,35),” he added.

It has been a tradition by devotees of Saint John the Baptist to douse water on people to imitate the act of baptism.

Earlier, water concessionaires have issued water interruptions advisories to their customers in Metro Manila and nearby areas as the water level of the Angat Dam continues to drop.

Private water companies, Manila Water is servicing the East Zone part of the National Capital Region and Rizal while Maynilad Water Services is supplying West Zone part of Metro Manila including Cavite.

Authorities said the water level of Angat Dam continues to dip as the country has yet to experience heavy rains to fill up the water reservoir in Bulacan.