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Parts of Makati's Ayala Avenue closed for Earth Hour


Parts of Ayala Avenue in Makati City will be closed starting 6 p.m. Saturday for the annual observance of Earth Hour. The Makati City government said traffic will be rerouted at the city's Central Business District (CBD) for the event. In an article on its website, the city government said a ceremonial switch-off of lights will be held at the Ayala Triangle Gardens and Tower One & Exchange Plaza. This Saturday evening's event will start with an Earth-themed parade of participants including Bailles de Luces, Lancer Band, Caracol Participants, Makati Representatives, Pascual Laboratories and Informatix contingents, Bus/Ejeep Groups, and Makati School and Barangay Contingents. The parade will start in front of Makati Central Fire Station on Ayala Extension and end at Tower One. Ayala Property Management Corporation Traffic Consultant Estela Lomat said westbound lanes of Ayala Avenue from Makati Avenue to Paseo de Roxas will be closed to traffic until the tail end gets inside the TOEP driveway at around 7 p.m. Monitoring teams from the Makati Police, Makati Fire Department, Makati Command Control Center (C3), and Makati Public Safety Department will be in full force to ensure that the activity is properly executed. Motorists were advised to take alternate routes for Saturday: - Vehicles on Ayala Avenue from EDSA going towards the direction of Gil Puyat Avenue shall turn right at the Makati Avenue intersection, left at Paseo de Roxas and right at Ayala Avenue to destination. - Vehicles on Paseo de Roxas from Legaspi Village going towards the direction of Gil Puyat Avenue are advised to turn right at Ayala Avenue intersection, left at Makati Avenue to destination. For 60 minutes Saturday night, local government units will switch off their lights in support of Earth Hour, to show their commitment to protect the environment. The Department of Interior and Local Government said it expects all provinces, cities, towns and villages to go dark from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. “Let us show our commitment to protect and preserve the environment and be counted in this campaign to save Mother Earth,” DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo said in a news release posted on the Official Gazette website. In Malacañang, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. issued a memorandum dated March 5, directing all heads of government agencies and offices, and LGUs to get involved in Earth Hour activities. He noted there will be simultaneous switch-off ceremonies in the Makati, Cebu and Davao Cities on Saturday. “Everybody benefits from the vast resources that our planet gives us and so it is only appropriate that everybody takes responsibility and do our share, even in our own little ways, to help preserve Mother Earth. And this Earth Hour event is one of the many significant opportunities for us to show our appreciation and care for our environment,” Ochoa said. Earth Hour, which started in Australia in 2007, is a global environmental consciousness campaign that encourages governments, communities, and businesses to switch off their lights for an hour. This aims to adopt a low-carbon-emission lifestyle to help address the threats of global warming. In 2011, 1,661 cities and municipalities all over the Philippines participated in Earth Hour activities. Robredo suggested that local chief executives conduct their own Earth Hour events with the following activities:

1. Switching off of lights and electrical appliances during the designated Earth Hour; 2. Hanging of streamers/ tarpaulins to announce the event in conspicuous places in their localities; 3. Announcing Earth Hour campaign during flag-raising ceremony or weekly conferences; 4. Organizing a forum discussing the benefits of the activity and the threats of global warming; 5. Tree planting activities involving everyone in the community; 6. Using of social media as a vehicle to involve the youth in this campaign; 7. Continue using compact fluorescent lamps instead of incandescent bulbs in all government installations.
— LBG, GMA News
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