MAKATI MOTORISTS SWITCH OFF ENGINES FOR 1 MINUTE TODAY
MAKATI CITY, APRIL 28, 2008 (STAR) Motorists plying Makati City’s major thoroughfares will end this year’s month-long celebration of Earth Day in the country’s financial and business capital by switching off their vehicle’s engine for at least one minute at 8 a.m. today.
“If all motorists on our major roads were to take part in this activity, I believe it would make a significant impact on our efforts towards cleaner air in Makati,” Mayor Jejomar Binay said.
“And with all the other environmental initiatives we undertook for an entire month to celebrate Earth Day, we will soon be rewarded with a cleaner, healthier environment,” he added.
Binay said the city and its people can look forward to enjoying tangible gains in the next few months, such as registering better air quality when the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) conducts its next round of regular ambient air quality monitoring.
According to him, Makati registered improved air quality in the first three months of the year, based on a report by Department of Environmental Services (DES) chief Danilo Villas.
The DENR’s regular monitoring reportedly showed a decrease in the average total suspended particles. The city’s average TSP level for the first three months of the year was at 139 micrograms per normal cubic meter, compared to 144 ug/Ncm for the same period last year.
Villas said DES personnel will monitor seven entry points in Makati to encourage motorists to shut down their engines.
The areas are J.P. Rizal Extension (MACDA) and the corners of Makati Avenue and J.P. Rizal street, Kalayaan Avenue and Reposo, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue and Ayala Avenue, Sen. Gil Puyat and Pasong Tamo, Sen. Gil Puyat and Makati Avenue, and Paseo de Roxas and Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue.
Villas said prior to the 8 a.m. simultaneous engine shutdown, environmentalists, government officials and private sector partners will hold a motorcade along Ayala Avenue at 7:30 a.m.
Right after the synchronized engine shutdown, Binay will lead other city officials and guests in the opening ceremonies of a day-long environmental program at the Glorietta Park 3, during which Makati’s environmental partners will be recognized. – Michael Punongbayan
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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