PGMA braves rains, floods to launch energy saving campaign

Braving heavy rains and knee-deep floods, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo went on with her scheduled engagement at the Don Bosco Youth Center in Tondo this morning and distributed compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) to poor households as part of the government’s nationwide “Switch to CFL” campaign.

With only a raincoat shielding her from the downpour, the President handed out free CFL lamps at the center located at North Harbor in exchange for the residents’ incandescent bulbs and Meralco electric bill.

Assisting the President in the event marking the start of the nationwide campaign to save energy and electricity were Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Secretary Reyes said the Switch to CFL program – the first of its kind in Asia – is in line with the administration’s Philippine Energy Efficiency Project (PEEP) aimed to save on fuel costs and help mitigate climate change.

He revealed that some 13 million CFLs is set to distribute nationwide in the coming months, and part of a larger drive is to make the Philippines incandescent bulb-free by next year..

“This campaign will not only save families money. It will also save the country P5 billion US $100 million in fuel costs each year or around P50 billion or US $1 billion over the coming decade,” Reyes said in his project briefing.

He said the program aims to reduce national carbon emissions by 300,000 tons a year, allowing the country to receive at least 200,000 tons of certified emission reduction (carbon market) credits annually.

Xianbin Yao, director general of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Regional Sustainable Development Department, noted that the Switch to CFL project shows how the Filipino people, and the world, can benefit from this kind of investment.

“This is the first country in Asia to access carbon credits from a program like this,” Yao said adding that the PEEP program of the administration covers seven projects, including CFL replacement program.

Eighteen non-governmental organizations and church groups have vowed to support the program and be part of the solution to the sudden change in climate and energy challenges.
this is a online press release from the Philippine Government