And I really appreciate the efforts of the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) Administration and Faculty for supporting our campaign to mitigate climate change through energy efficient lighting. I am likewise pleased to see the students of TIP make a stand against climate change. It is without a doubt that the youth is the future of our country. In the Philippines, the students have their history of progressive idealism. And the student power is palpable in this room.

The issue of climate change is not yet wellknown to most Filipinos. And expressing one’s statement on an issue as significant as climate change is not easy and is by all means akin to staging a silent revolution—here, the revolution against our own extinction.

When I was the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, I once said in a conference that "We are now engaged in the only war that we are morally authorized to wage—the war against our own extinction—and we have to wage the war NOW!".

For the youth, you have all the strength and time, but you must have the will to roll up your sleeves and get things done. The success to mitigate climate change will grow exponentially if we are all committed to work for this. Encourage more students to join this campaign. Our generation may not yet fully feel the effects of climate change, but your generation and the generation of your children will feel its worse effects if we do not act now.

Climate change is clearly a global and a national issue that must transcend politics. Everyone has a duty to address that. Only when we get beyond politics and set aside our interests – then we can fully rely on our strength to work for progress. We need your support this time, especially now that the world is changing rapidly. Even the threat of a rice shortage is being connected to climate change. We are not asking for grand and ambitious steps from all of you but only a simple but more purposeful and feasible stride to address that. Here, the TIP community is addressing climate change through "Palit-Ilaw," or the shift from conventional lighting products such as incandescent bulbs, T12s or the fat tubular fluorescent lamps, magnetic ballasts and lighting fixtures to CFLs, slim type linear fluorescent lamps, low-loss magnetic and electronic ballasts, and high-efficiency luminaries. But this Palit-Ilaw is not just about mitigating climate change, it is also about the savings that the TIP will get from changing T12 linear fluorescent lamps to T8 or "slimmer" linear fluorescent lamps.

Based on the study done by the students of TIP, by shifting to T8 linear fluorescent lamps, the whole TIP Arlegui campus could save up to P22,976.66 per month or P275,719.92 a year.

By initiating this concrete change in the academe, the TIP students and faculty are setting an example for other students and other schools and universities. And I would like to congratulate you all for that. May this activity inspire more people, not only students and educational institutions but all Filipinos to play a more active role in combating climate change by being more conscious and knowledgeable about the issue of climate change.

Thank you and mabuhay!