MANILA, Philippines — Nightclub Cove Manila canceled its supposed record-breaking balloon drop event for New Year’s countdown amid criticism from social media users and environmental advocacy groups. The club said in a statement that it received a letter from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources “encouraging” Okada Manila to cancel the event on Sunday. While the club insisted that the planned “balloon dropping event will not harm the environment,” Okada Manila’s management said it has “voluntarily decided” to scrap the event as a sign of respect to the DENR. READ: New Year's Eve balloon drop 'environmentally sound,' club saysIn an earlier release, Cove Manila said that the event “is not a whimsical effort to just ‘play’ with thousands of balloons. After the cancellation of the event, DAKILA thanked Cove Manila for taking action.

Source: Philippine Star December 31, 2018 01:52 UTC