RP OBSERVES EARTH HOUR TONIGHT
METRO MANILA, MARCH 29, 2008 (STAR) Filipinos can help ease the effects of global warming by joining the Earth Hour campaign and turning off their lights at 8 tonight.Led by the Catholic Church and government agencies, the participation of the Philippines in the international event initiated by World Wide Fund will be witnessed in five key cities in Metro Manila: Manila, Pasay, Parañaque, Caloocan and Makati.
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said Earth Hour in the Philippines is the best way for Filipinos to show “commitment to be responsible stewards of nature and also our penance for our ecological sins and offenses and the beginning of our resolve never to commit those sins again.”
Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, who also chairs the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change (PTFCC), said officials of five cities in Metro Manila – as well as private firms such as Philips, Coca-Cola and McDonalds – vowed to participate in the global campaign against global warning.
The Manila Electric Co. will help measure how much energy would be conserved when people switch off their lights from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight.
WWF-Philippines president Dave Valdez said it is the first time that the Philippines will participate in the activity.
“The Philippines ranks No. 9 in the world in the list of 30 countries committed to Earth Hour… If we can top that list, it will be a global sensation because (it would show that) we would be a Third World country with a high awareness of global warming,” he said.
The country has already been experiencing changes in the weather. Filipinos are expecting a shorter but hotter summer. This year is said to be dominated by the La Niña weather phenomenon, which would bring more rains.
Parañaque City Mayor Florencio Bernabe said the city is “way above sea level” yet they have been experiencing floods recently.
Manila City Administrator Jesus Marzan assured the WWF that they will turn off the lights along Baywalk strip on Roxas Boulevard.
Makati Rep. Abigail Binay, who represented her father Mayor Jejomar Binay, said they will turn off the lights along key roads such as Pasay Road, J.P. Rizal street, Kalayaan Avenue and Ayala Avenue.
“We would use the fire stations and the churches to signal the beginning and end of the Earth Hour,” she said.
Caloocan Mayor Enrico Echiverri also said he will shut down the lights along EDSA, Rizal Avenue and Samson Road.
The organizers have also prepared a program at the fountain lawn of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. There would be a countdown minutes before the start of the Earth Hour.
Reyes assured the public that even if some of the streetlights along the major thoroughfares in Metro Manila would be temporarily turned off, it would still be safe for motorists.
As for fears that it would trigger a crime wave, Reyes said they will coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and request that they increase police presence and visibility.
“We are not expecting a total blackout. We would just turn off the lights on the billboards and (some establishments such as) McDo’s golden arches,” he said.
The Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia last year. Initiated by WWF – Australia, 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses in Sydney turned off their lights and reduced the city’s energy consumption by 10.2 percent – the equivalent of taking of 48,000 cars off the road for an hour. – Edu Punay
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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