Stakeholders of Davao City bond together and discussed the campaign as it will join in the global event of Earth Hour on March 28, 2009 between 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
During the media launch of Earth Hour on Thursday, March 12 at Marco Polo Davao, Margie Moran-Floirendo, chairperson of Southern Philippines Foundation for Arts, Culture and Ecology and president emeritus of Save Davao Gulf Foundation said the event is just symbolic encouraging the people to join the campaign of saving the environment.
She said the activity is beyond Earth Hour even as she said that change of lifestyle start with everyones home.
Davao City Councilor Leo Avila III, council chair of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources said that they already passed a resolution where the Davao City government supports the conduct of the Earth Hour here.
Avila likewise said that several ordinancdes and resolutions are crafted to strengthen the campaign on environmental protection.
The campaign for more participants to this year's Earth Hour is massive as Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan said that they aim to reach 10 million supporters this year as against the 2008 Earth Hour that only had one million.
He said they had been going to places around the country to seek the support of both government and the private sector.
He said in 2008, the Philippines ranked nine among the countries that carried the Earth Hour around the world.
"We want to come big this year and in fact there will be four cities in the country where the Earth Hour will be carried live on television," he said.
He said in Davao City there will be two sites for the holding of the event, one at SM City Davao and the other at the People's Park.
He said if Dabawenyos could mobilize big and interesting event as this could be shown worldwide as part of documentation.
Narzalina Z. Lim, president of Asia Pacific Projects, Inc. encouraged stakeholders to tell the people about Earth Hour.
"Unlike in the global financial crisis, the global warming has not bailout that is why we have to work now to effect mitigation so we can see complete results before the end of the century," she said.
Atty. Armi Jane Borje, liaison officer for Earth Hour Mindanao, Office of Secretary, Department of Energy calls on the people to support Earth Hour by simply Switching Off lights as a way of joining the world in sending global message of hope and action to everyone.
She said this is a step address the signs of climate change even as she urge the public to support SWITCH, a social mobilization movement that seeks to demonstrate how ordinary Filipinos and specific sectors of Philippine society contribute sustantively through fundamental changes in lifestyle, behavior or standard practices needed to address the dire consequences of unstable oil prices and climate change.
She said it is also a call to switch from wasteful to efficient energy practices beginning with lighting in workplaces, buildings, homes and public places.
She also said that individuals are encouraged to switch from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lamp s (CFLs) and other energy-efficient lighting technologies.
In line with the Earth Hour activity, the public is enjoined to sign-up at the Earth Hour official website at www.earthhour.org.
