Submitted on 2009/03/26 at 8:37am
By: PIO-LGU Bulan
Bulan, Sorsogon, March 26, 2009.
Bulan Town in the Province of Sorsogon, in the Philippines is joining the Earth Hour movement!
Mayor Helen C. De Castro of the Local Government Unit of Bulan leads her community in joining the Earth Hour event on March 28, 2009 from 8:30-9:30 in the evening of Saturday.
In her communications sent to all sectors of the Bulaneno Community – the media, youth, business, labor, religious and academic sectors – Mayor De Castro is exhorting every Bulaneno, young and old alike, to wholeheartedly join and support this event by sacrificing one hour on the evening of March 28 by switching off their lights, electricity, the use of cell phones and the internet.
The three local radio stations -One FM, Veritas FM, and Padaba FM are now airing her taped Earth Hour message every two hours until March 28. These stations will have a countdown to the Earth Hour.
The local cable station, BSTV, is now airing a round-the-clock environment film showing featuring the Earth Hour, the Panahon Na! presentation on Climate Change and the Bulan Environment Program until the Earth Hour event.
The local parish church will be pealing the church bells as a countdown to Earth Hour and will be ringing the bells ten times every tenth minute until the Earth Hour is concluded. The local fire department will sound its sirens to signal the start of the Earth Hour.
One innovation started by Mayor De Castro is that since this is school graduation and closing season, all schools, even after the Earth Hour on March 28, will shut off their lights ten minutes before the start of their graduation ceremonies, as a show of solidarity to the Earth Hour movement-and they will hold numbers to dramatize concern for the environment.
A Texters’ Brigade has been organized to send “Pass an Earth Hour message” to friends and texters around.
In its own little way, the Bulan Community is one with the world in helping Mother Earth.
In the Province of Sorsogon, Bulan Town has been in the forefront of protecting and preserving the Environment. In 2008, Bulan Town was declared a DILG GO FAR Model Town for Solid Waste Management in the whole country. The Local Government Unit also conducts an annual Feast of the Mountains every first Saturday of October and has converted its dumpsite into an ecological park. (PIO)
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Bulan Observer 
To: PIO/LGU Bulan
Thank you for having our town joined the ” Earth Hour Movement”. I grew up in Bulan. I am glad that your administration showed some concern about protecting our environment. I would like to express my concern as a citizen of bulan about the following environmental problems that are existing right now in bulan.
1. Our dying river in Bulan just behind the old general hospital. When I was in high school, we used to pass by there and watch the river rise up during high tide. It was a very clear clean river. We used to watch different kind of colorful marine species coming in from the ocean carried by high tide. Some children play and swim in the river. The last time I visited Bulan and want to see the river on my way to town, as I approached the river, I noticed the foul smell coming from the river. The river is stagnant and murky, full of all kinds of garbage, it became the raw sewage disposal of the people living along the river. It has a very foul smell, it is where the mosquitoes lay their eggs and if the health dept. of Bulan wonder why we have Dengue, it is coming from the stagnant,murky,dirty, foul smelling river. It is not really pleasant to have people or visitors coming to visit Bulan and all they smell is the foul smelling river. It leaves a very bad impression. Bulan, a stinky town. We don’t want that impression. This article is for all the people that live in Bulan. It is NOT only the responsibility of the local government of Bulan to keep this river clean again. It is the responsibility of every citizen of Bulan to take care of our environment. We have to work together as a team. Hindi yong kanya-kanya and don’t care attitude just because you don’t live near the river. The mosquitoes that bites you doesn’t discriminate who live near the river or you live far from the river.
I know it will cost money to dredge and drain the the river, remove all the basura and keep the river flowing again. Implement a regulation that prohibits the disposal of raw sewage materials into the river. It will cost a lot of money but it is worth every centavo of it. It is also politically correct to take care of these problems. Think about it. The administration that cleaned up these problems will benefit from it in the long run.We will eradicate Dengue disease and Bulan will be a model town.
2. Who is responsible to clean up the mess along the seashore that the miner of margaha sand left behind ? I will leave the answer to whoever is responsible behind it.
3) The above problems that I brought up are real problems and need to be solve. It will help our Mother Earth breathe fresh air again.
We can join together to keep our town beautiful. It is a challenge to us taga-bulan. I am calling upon the head of the local govenment as well as the private business establishments, civic organizations, private citizens and OFW from bulan to create a task force or a plan. “Project Clean the River”. It will be a good project and it will show solidarity among taga-bulan. Thank you,
Dora the Mouse
Dora