MANILA - Okada Manila has cancelled plans to drop 130,000 balloons to welcome the new year amid public criticism that this would cause environmental problems, the casino resort operator said Sunday.

JUST IN: Okada Manila cancels the planned Balloon Dropping event at Cove Manila for New Year's Eve celebration after receiving criticisms for its possible environmental impact; the countdown and other festivities will proceed as schedule pic.twitter.com/qHDLW1oGUE

— Ron Lopez (@RonLopezPH) December 30, 2018

The casino resort's "The Cove Manila" indoor events venue had earlier said it was going to drop the balloons as part of its New Year's Eve festivities, and was meant to land the event in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Social media users however criticized the planned balloon drop saying it would cause environmental problems and generate a lot of waste.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources also asked Okada Manila to cancel the event.

In a statement, Okada Manila said it had voluntarily decided to cancel the balloon drop event "as a sign of respect to the DENR's recommendation and in support of the Government's campaign to protect and save the environment."

The casino resort operator however maintained that the balloon drop was not going to harm the environment as the balloons were made of biodegradable latex materials and would be recycled afterwards.

Despite the cancellation of the controversial event, Okada Manila said its New Year's Eve countdown and all other festivities in the casino resort would go on as scheduled.