Puerto Princesa government officials reminded residents of everyone’s “intergenerational responsibility” to environmental conservation as the city participates in Earth Hour 2023, entitled “The Biggest Hour for Earth,” on Saturday night.
The event included a candle-lighting ceremony at the Balayong People’s Park, as well as a one-hour power outage from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. The program was organized by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO) and was supported by DENR-PENRO and the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP).
Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia, in the year 2007 when people from around the world were encouraged to turn off electricity for one hour as a symbol of support to fight climate change and global warming.
During the event, City ENRO head Atty. Carlo Gomez stated that the activity is only a demonstration of dedication to the planet, but the more important thing is the duty that everyone has in nature stewardship.
He also stated that there are also other activities being spearheaded by the City ENRO, which include iTree for Urban Forest, where they conduct an inventory of trees around the city proper; Mudball Run as part of the cleanup activity at the Puerto Princesa Bay; and the Marine Turtle Conservation Program; Love Affair with Nature, a mangrove planting activity; and Pista Y ang Kagueban, a tree planting activity in the mountains of the city, both of which are held annually.
“What is more important is our responsibility beyond the hour. Of course, Puerto Princesa City is not behind in terms of manifesting commitment to mother earth with the implementation of several ordinances regarding environmental protection – the single use plastic, septage management plan, waste to energy program – these are but just examples of our responsibility beyond the hour,” Gomez explained.
City councilor Luis Marcaida III also explained that while Puerto Princesa has been actively participating in the Earth Hour celebration, there are several other activities that are being held to promote environmental protection.
“This activity is indeed important for our city because tonight, we once again show the world that the city of Puerto Princesa fully supports efforts for environmental protection,” Marcaida said.
“We are all gathered here now in one belief that we have to protect the environment not only for the present generation and the coming generations and the generations yet unborn in what we call inter-generational responsibility to take care of our environment,” he added.
He further stated that it is the duty of present generation to educate the young children of the responsibilities for mother earth and their role for the generations that will come after them.
Councilor Henry Gadiano also emphasized the importance of environmental protection not only through Earth Hour. He also said protecting the environment is not the sole responsibility of the government but also of everybody.
“This earth hour alone will not solve the problems that our environment is facing. That’s why we must be part of the solution,” Gadiano said.
“We must emphasize the intergenerational responsibility. This is not just activity of the city government but a responsibility of everybody. Let us not be just mere observers of the environmental protection but we must take part on these programs,” he added.
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