With the Philippines joining the world in commemorating Earth Hour on Saturday, party-list group Luntiang Pilipinas urged Filipinos to adopt an Earth Hour “mentality” 24/7.
“We have an Earth Hour, an Earth Day, and an Earth Month—and numerous activities to mark these events that call attention to environmental issues,” said Luntiang Pilipinas first nominee Michael Ubac.
“As a means to raise awareness and to provide the public with information about the problems of the environment, Earth Hour is an amazing medium. It tells us that the little things matter; that the minor adjustments in our behavior to help the environment can make a difference—if everyone in the country, in the world, participates,” stressed the multi-awarded journalist.
“The challenge is for us to be able to take this awareness and action further, beyond today’s activities.”
“The challenge is for us to be able to take this awareness and action further, beyond today’s activities. It’s about us adopting an Earth Hour mentality 24/7, 365 days a year. That is what it will take to save our planet for the next generation.”
Earth Hour is now on its 12th year and started out as a campaign to engage people and create significant environmental action against climate change. It has since evolved into a platform that aims to raise awareness on other environmental issues like biodiversity.
Ubac, a product of the University of the Philippines and Harvard University, said this year’s focus on banning plastics was appropriate given the growing threat posed by unfettered plastic use in the country.
The Philippines currently ranks third among the countries with the highest source of plastic ocean pollution, generating 1.88 million metric tonnes of mismanaged plastic garbage annually. The country also produces a whopping 163 million plastic sachets daily.
“It tells us that the little things matter; that the minor adjustments in our behavior to help the environment can make a difference.”
“This is why Luntiang Pilipinas supports the passage of Senate Bill 1948, or the Single-Use Plastics Regulation and Management Act of 2018, and why this will be one of our top legislative priorities if we win a seat in Congress if it is not passed in this Congress,” Ubac revealed.
The measure, a measure authored by Luntiang Pilipinas Party-list founder Senator Loren Legarda, aims to phase out single-use plastics in the country by prohibiting its importation and use in food establishments, stores, markets and retailers.
According to Ubac, measures similar to the proposed law have already been adopted at the local level, with much success. These include Bacolod City; Baguio City; Boracay Island; Cebu City; Makati City; El Nido, Palawan; Legazpi City, Albay; Los Baños, Laguna; Pilar, Surigao del Norte; and San Fernando, La Union.
The main switch-off event Earth Hour 2019 was at the Globe Circuit Event Grounds in Makati from 5 pm to 10 pm, with the actual switch-off at 8:30 pm.
