Switched Off

CEBU, Philippines - Sixty minutes of darkness is a huge contribution in response to the worldwide campaign against global warming. Organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Earth Hour is held every last Saturday of March where households and establishments are asked to turn off non-essential lights and appliances as their bold participation to save Mother Earth.

Since its inception in 2007 in Sydney, Filipinos have slowly grasped the vision of this global event with the number of households and business establishments that participate increasingly each year. Cebuanos were nonetheless not in the back seat on this endeavor. Last Saturday, at around 8:30-9:30 p.m., Cebu’s major malls including Ayala Center Cebu, took a stand against climate change. Tenants voluntarily switched off store/boutique lights for an hour. The Terraces turned into a romantic lane where candlelit diners abound. It was indeed a night of candle lights and glow sticks.

Ayala Center Cebu developer, Cebu Holdings, Inc., was in full participation of the Earth Hour, having been able to come up with Earth Hour wall canvas where shoppers, teens, kids and adults, wrote their pledges of support to the Earth Hour at the Activity Center. On Earth Hour’s third anniversary, an online registration cum voting, the Vote Earth, was set up to educate and encourage mall goers to participate in this global campaign. WWF is targeting 1 billion votes for this year which will later be presented to the world leaders during the 2009 Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. According to CHI OIC for Property Management Elson R. Homez, the mall saved 2, 080 kilowatts and 395 kg of Carbon Dioxide emission based on data gathered.

Restobars also did their share to increase climate change awareness. The Outpost in Nivel Hills, Lahug started lighting candles at the strike of 8:30 to be one with the world. Speakers, amps and other electronic instruments were switched off while diners enjoyed a candlelit dinner. Party resumed after 9:30pm.

Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa also switched off all the lights in all three towers of the pink landmark for one-hour. 

What makes Cebu Hilton’s celebration extraordinary was that guests were treated to the screening of Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, at the beach side during the time when all the lights where off. Guests lounged in the beanbags and lounge chairs spread all over the beach area as the documentary was projected to a wide screen on board a banca in the middle of the resort’s lagoon. 

The mesmerizing experience was a first in Cebu, and a total success as guests stayed on to watch the whole movie, inculcating the message of the urgency of the issue and for them to help curb global warming by decreasing one’s carbon footprint. 

Cebu Hilton’s marketing and communications manager Sigfred Catalan revealed that with the success of the first screening of Cebu Hilton’s beach theatre, more films may just be shown on the beach side where guests can relax on the sand with their sodas and popcorns as they enjoy the movies that will be played on the floating screening.  

Cebu Hilton’s novel idea of imparting a very important message to its guest has made Earth Hour more meaningful, and for sure, has made their guests’ stay more memorable.

Hopefully, this will be practiced continuously, especially in the homes and in the workplace, to fully give Mother Earth a breather.