Palace, senators, LGUs to switch off lights on Earth Hour

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang, a number of senators, and local government units are all among the latest addition to the growing list of participants willing to kill their lights for an hour for Mother Nature’s sake. Press Secretary Cerge Remondo said that like the Palace, all communities in the country should also take part in this year’s Earth Hour 2009 – a global event where around 1 billion people are expected to switch off their lights for one hour in the hopes of reducing the effects of climate change. In the Philippines, the Earth Hour will start at 8:30 p.m. and end at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday (March 28). Earth Hour Philippines 2009 hopes to involve 10 million Filipinos and 500 businesses in key cities and towns throughout the country. Remonde said Filipinos – like other nationalities – have the responsibility to participate because the human race is living in only one world and is therefore tasked to protect it. Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno has already encouraged local officials from provincial governors and mayors down to village officials to “as far as practicable, turn off the non-essential lights and electrical appliances in provincial, city, municipal and barangays halls for one hour or at least within Earth Hour." Senators join in Sen. Manuel “Manny" Villar said that Filipinos can consider their participation in the Earth Hour as their first step in making a stand for the environment. “It is everyone’s responsibility to one another and to the future generations to see that the Philippine environment is preserved and protected." Villar said in a statement. Villar, president of the Nacionalista Party, made the appeal as he filed Senate Resolution 950 which seeks to review environment policies in the Philippines and addressing gaps in them. “Despite the surfeit of ecological laws, the Philippine environment remains to be in a critical state. Soil fertility has decreased while pollution has increased. Fisheries have become increasingly less productive while flooding and landslides occur annually due to erosion from deforestation," Villar said. For his part, Opposition Sen. Francis “Chiz" Escudero said that participatiing on the Earth Hour should take on a deeper and significant meaning for Filipinos. “Let an hour of darkness enlighten us of the need to change our lifestyles if we are to arrest the continuing degradation of the planet. Let it also remind us of the dark future we are facing if we don’t act now," Escudero said. Sen. Loren Legarda has likewise expressed support for Earth Hour. Pioneer country Even the Australian Embassy in Manila vowed to support the environmental cause. Australia is the birthplace of the Earth Hour, having initiated the environmental event in Sydney in 2007. “We join the millions of individuals from around the world who have expressed their commitment to take a stand against the global threat of climate change," Australian Ambassador Rod Smith said in a statement. “We are working with the international community in developing a global response to address the problem, as well as to implement long and short term measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within Australia," Smith added. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said that almost 3,000 municipalities from 84 countries are expected to switch off their lights for mother Earth, according to the Associated Press. In 2008, over 50 million people from 35 countries around the world participated. During the first ever Earth Hour, over two million Sydney residents and some 2,000 business establishments switched off their lights that resulted in a 10.2 percent energy reduction in the city. The pioneer initiative translated to a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of 24.86 tons. Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes and WWF-Philippines CEO and vice chairman Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan have both appealed to communities and local governments to join the Earth Hour. The local government of Iloilo City has earlier promised to participate in the anti-global warming event by switching off all lights in more than 30 plazas in the city’s six districts. Even the Manila Electric Co, a major power distributor in the country, has vowed to turn off all the lights in their head offices, business centers, and extension offices and sectors within its franchise area. The Philippine National Police will deploy additional policemen to key areas in the country to thwart any attempt of criminals to take advantage of the one-hour darkness. While lights inside households and commercial and government establishments are expected to be switched off at that hour, police blinkers meanwhile will cut through the darkness to “make police presence felt and known." - GMANews.TV