Mayor Honey Lacuna led the launch of the Earth Hour Philippines 2024 held in the city of Manila.
In line with this, the mayor called on everyone, specially the city residents, to switch off and give an hour for our Mother Earth this coming Saturday, March 23, 2024, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
In her speech, Lacuna expressed gratitude that Manila had been chosen as the venue for this year’s Earth Hour, with the theme “Switch off Plastic Pollution, Give an Hour for Earth”.
“The Philippines has been actively participating in the annual Earth Hour since 2009. And we in Manila feel very honored to be hosting this year’s Earth Hour on its 15th year celebration,” she said.
“In our own little way, we have been helping in cleaning up the waterways in our juridical area through our own small teams without any other goal but to pick up trash and clean the bay. We have dedicated teams meant to address three different waterfronts in the nation’s capital; Baseco Beach, Roxas Boulevard, and our esteros and creeks which lessens the chances of plastic wastes to eventually end up and float to the open sea. Furthermore, we are very proud to share that the City of Manila is the first city in the National Capital Region to adopt a City Plan of Action on Marine Litter (CPOA-ML) and localize the National Plan of Action on Marine Litter (NPOA-ML),” she said.
Lacuna added: “We have also partnered with different private and non-government organizations for waste diversion projects and incentivized plastic waste collection that aim to reduce the amount of plastics going into our waterways and landfills. These are 1) Kolek, Kilo Kita Para sa Walastik na Maynila, 2) Alaskalikasan Wrapper Redemption Program, 3) Aling Tindera: A Waste to Cash Program, and 4) Tapon to Ipon Project to name a few.”
In encouraging each and every one, especially the Manilenos to join the call for action and join the Earth Hour on March 23, Lacuna said it will be a great help if everyone could turn off non-essential lights for one hour.
“Let us always remember that Earth Hour is more than just how much energy is saved when we switch off our lights for one hour. This is more than that. This is about inspiring people to unite for our Mother Earth and stand against the destruction of the environment and climate change,” she said.
The mayor also assured support toward the common goal to protect the environment and stop the flow of plastic pollution in the waters surrounding the country.
As the country’s capital, we’re keen on using the influence we have in engaging other cities and Filipinos to do their part in saving the environment, she added.
Lacuna urged Manilans to help create the ‘Biggest Hour for Earth’ by spending an hour or 60 minutes ‘doing anything positive for our one shared home.’
In preparation for the Earth Hour 2024 celebration, the city government-led launch was held at the Manila City Hall through the Department of Public Services-Manila.
The Earth Hour is aimed at creating awareness of and taking responsibility toward a sustainable future by turning the lights off for one hour.
During ‘Earth Hour,’ people all over the world turn off their lights at 8:30 p.m. in the local times on the last Saturday of March.
Businesses and government organizations, as well as community and political leaders, also take part in the said activity which is about giving the people a voice on the planet’s future and working together to create a sustainable low carbon future for planet earth.
By switching off, one is to dedicate an hour to help bring our world back to life. People all around the world participate as a show of symbolic support for the planet and raising much-needed awareness of the environmental issues affecting it.
