By Leslie Ann Aquino
More than just turning off lights for an hour, the faithful should observe Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28, by also praying for Mother Earth, according to the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo (CBCP / MANILA BULLETIN)
In the Philippines this year everyone is being encouraged to turn off the light from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
“Christians let us spend this hour in prayer for our Mother Earth and for all those who defend and care for it,” Bishop Broderick Pabillo said in his March 25 pastotal instruction.
The observance of Earth Hour in the Philippines, he said, will be very dramatic and will be felt by all families, with the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in place.
“We will stay in darkness and in silence for an hour, hopefully to make us appreciate the importance of energy. If we squander it, we will be forced to do without it because energy too is scarce resource,” added Pabillo.
He said the great concern over the novel coronavirus should not cloud people’s minds from other important matters, such as care for Mother Earth.
“The global damage that COVID-19 does should make concrete to us the global destruction that will come upon us if we do not care for our common home,” said Pabillo.
Earth Hour started in Sydney in 2007, when businesses and residential houses turned off all lights for one hour to make a stand against climate change. Since then, it has been done annually all over the world.