Cities of Cebu, Davao, Makati to lead Earth Hour

MANILA, Philippines - Environmentalists yesterday announced that the switch-off ceremonies for Earth Hour to be led by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) are slated in the cities of Cebu, Davao and Makati on March 31.

The WWF said other cities and towns are expected to hold well-organized events to observe Earth Hour.

Lawyer Gia Ibay, national director of Earth Hour Philippines, said Makati City’s Ayala Triangle will serve as the central hub for Luzon while the switch-off activity is being observed.

“A glow-in-the-dark dance troupe shall form the vanguard of an Earth-themed parade which starts at the Makati Fire Station and ends at Ayala Tower One where a program will be held afterwards. Earth Hour founder Andy Riley will lead the country’s main switch-off event hosted by WWF with the help of Ayala Land and the Makati City government,” said Ibay in a press conference at the Manila Peninsula in Makati City.

Cebu City’s Plaza Independencia will be the main venue for the activity in the Visayas, and SM Davao in Mindanao.

She said they are promoting Earth Hour this year through the launch of the “I Will If You Will” campaign, which is the result of an alliance among WWF, Leo Burnett, and YouTube – merging the world’s biggest social video platform with the world’s largest environmental event.

“The concept of ‘I Will If You Will’ centers around providing a social contract between two parties – connecting one person, business or organization to a ‘promise’ and their friends, family, customers or members to a challenge – uniting them behind the common goal of creating a positive environmental outcome,” she said.

The Earth Hour YouTube platform hosts a global library of “I Will If You Will” challenges, while encouraging people to share their “dares” in public through Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and e-mail.

“The simple promise can range from recycling, to switching to energy-efficient light bulbs, turning off your mobile charger, or signing up for paperless banking,” Ibay said.

Earth Hour began as a single-city initiative in 2007 and has since grown to be a 5,251-city strong global movement, reaching 1.8 billion people in 135 countries across all seven continents.

Earth Hour Philippines has led the activity since 2009, ranking number one globally in terms of the participation of towns and cities for three consecutive years.

A record-breaking 1,554 Philippine cities and municipalities switched off in 2011; 1,076 in 2010; 647 in 2009; and over 50 during the country’s inaugural Earth Hour switch-off in 2008.

From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on March 31, WWF-Philippines will again stage Earth Hour to inspire Filipinos to switch off their lights and dare their friends to save planet Earth.