A tribute to Mother Earth

At last, the spotlight finally focused on Mother Earth and the many blessings she brings. Last April 24, BPI Foundation organized Love Earth, a fun-filled Earth day celebration at the Tagaytay International Convention Center.

Friends and well-wishers of Mother Earth gathered to pay tribute to nature’s precious gifts to humanity. While the day-long affair was packed with exciting activities like the organic market, youth camp, business and environment forum, technological briefing, on-the-spot-painting contest, concerts and many more, Love Earth also served as a reminder about our social responsibility to consciously look after the environment.

The event kicked off with the Love Earth caravan led by car racer George Ramirez. Motorists assembled at The Fort and drove all the way to Tagaytay for the day-long celebration. The festival officially opened with a holy Mass, followed by a business and environment forum "Enterprising for Earth" where key representatives from business and government organizations discussed how they can work together towards preserving the environment.

Tourists and nearby residents trooped to the Love Earth site to visit the organic market, which sold fresh vegetables and other earth-friendly delights. Motorists also took advantage of the free emission test courtesy of JPV Tagaytay and were treated to a short lecture on the latest environmental-friendly fuel additives from Chemrez, makers of coco biodiesel and DMX Technology Corp.

Love Earth also had various activities for children. Older kids were busy with the on-the-spot-painting contest while younger ones tried the many activities at the Toddler Space. Little girls even had their hair spruced up at the Kid’s Salon. Henna tattoo artists and face painters were on-hand to amuse the little guests.

In between the excitement were acoustic performances by Richard Merk, Noel Cabangon and Mae Romero. Early in the afternoon the audience relaxed and watched Earth Day Fun Day on a Sunday, a musical play headed by Ricky Davao with members of Gantimpala Theater. The fun yet meaningful presentation informed the audience of the proper way of disposing everyday trash. Being an interactive play, it gave the children the chance to take part in the educational activity.

The event was capped with a musical tribute to Mother Earth. The concert was hosted by Donita Rose, who also delighted the audience with her practical earth-friendly tips. Tagaytay’s cool breeze was filled with beautiful songs that honored the environment.

The Love Earth concert featured the voices of Jacqui Magno, Ricky Davao, Isay Alvarez, Robert Seña, Reuben Laurente of The CompanY and the Katribo Collective Band.

Earth Day is an annual event and is observed in different countries worldwide. And while various groups may have different means of celebrating the affair, Love Earth chose to heed the conscious call for environmental preservation. Love Earth served as the initial step in the lifetime commitment to consciously come up with products and activities that strengthen our love for Mother Earth. It also "planted" a seed for Earth Day commemorations in years to come.

Love Earth was organized by the Bank of the Philippine Islands, BPI Foundation Inc., BPI Express Teller, BPI Express Cash, BPI-Petron MasterCard, Ayala Life Assurance Inc.-Life Achiever, Petron Foundation, Premium Plus DMX Technology in cooperation with the Tagaytay City Government (through Mayor Abraham Tolentino).