ANGEL THOUGHTS “How long does a lamp burn? Through continuous inputs of small drops of oil, Like the small things of daily life. Faithfulness, kindness, a listening ear, a caring heart, joy shared in the triumphs of life. What keeps our lamps burning? Family, friends and God! These are the drops of oil in our life!” –Supreme Court Justice Consuelo Y. Santiago

If the SWITCH movement–which includes a good cross-section of our society today–NGOs, government agencies, the Church, ordinary people, government agencies–had their way, Filipinos across the country could really "switch" to an energy-efficient lifestyle.

Starting with switching to solar power in war-torn Mindanao (thanks to project AMORE), conserving rain water in households for use in washing cars or gardening, using lower wattage bulbs, and maintaining and driving government vehicles properly, SWITCH deserves our support and participation in their advocacy of changing our lifestyles to that of "CS," as RPN president ambassador-designate Orly Mercado advocates daily over channel 9, to "conserve and survive!"

I did not know there was already a presidential task force on climate change until we had as one of the speakers in our regular Bulong Pulungan Forum its director, Liesl Lim. Well, it’s reassuring that the Palace appears sensitive to climate change issues.

Many of our miseries like flooding, rice shortages, and the outbreak of diseases like dengue can be traced to climate changes, so the more we know, the more aware we will be of the urgency of the advocacies of SWITCH.

Already, most of the 17 city mayors and one municipal mayor in Metro Manila have pledged to be part of the movement, making their city halls energy-efficient, getting the schools in their areas as participants in saving energy and teaching school children how to be active in SWITCH.

No less than President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led the ceremonial "switching" of the mayors from ordinary energy-guzzler bulbs to super energy-saver lights! Now, let’s hope they really follow through with their pledges.

Tetchie Capellan of AMORE (a rural electrification program "guided by several stakeholders such as the USAID, the DOE, the US-based non-profit WINROCK Intl., Mirant Philippines, etc.") gave us a leaflet showing what they are doing and have done in Mindanao. It showed several previously non-electrified communities discovering how to use power for attaining sustainable development. Techie explained that while poverty is still present in the communities, but already there is hope, and in many instances, there are activities spurring economic and social progress.

Director Mario Marasigan of DOE is one example, at least to your writer, of a hard-working bureaucrat who understands what he is doing and seems to love it. He explained the many ways of participating in the SWITCH movement for ordinary citizens, like you and me, and I am sure we can draw up our own list too!

It’s a matter of convincing ourselves why we have to "switch," and at this point, I am sure all of us want to cut down our power, fuel, and food costs, not only in these times but for a lifetime!

It was also heartening to hear from director Marasigan and Real Tirol, action officer of SWITCH, that many government agencies have already "switched" lifestyles and have saved millions of pesos in the process! One of the excellent examples is MMDA, which, according to Marasigan, saved some P 40 million on their vehicles alone by motivating the personnel to use them properly and more efficiently. Now, that’s chairman Bayani for you!

Change those light bulbs to start with, and keep your house lights at a minimum. It is no longer fashionable to keep your home lighted like show rooms even if they are Architectural Digest pretty!