GRBP Observes Earth Hour

Golden Rural Bank of the Philippines (GRBP) joined the world in observing the Earth Hour, the global movement for the preservation of the planet that is organized by the World Wide Fund (WWF).

Headed by its company officials, the GRBP team joined individuals and other business participants from the city in observing this year’s Earth Hour, held worldwide on 29 March 2014. The city program for the Earth Hour was conducted at the Festival Ground, Minante 1, in Cauayan City. It was one of the highlights in the city’s celebration of the Gawagaway-yan Festival that is being held annually to observe the founding anniversary of the conversion of Cauayan from a town into a city.

Employees, directors and shareholders of GRBP lighted and flew sky lanterns when all lights were switched off for an hour during the Earth Hour. After the program, the festival proceeded with the introduction of the contestants for the Ms. Cauayan and the launch of the new fire truck for the city.

“Our recent participation in the Earth Hour marks the start of GRBP’s commitment to the advocacy. Switching off electricity for one hour each year is just one of the activities we have lined up to help conserve the environment. Through our environment conservation programs, we are happy that we can contribute in our own little ways,” says GRBP Senior Vice-President Enrico Guinto.

The Earth Hour commitment is part of GRPB’s holistic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program that seeks to give back and nurture the bank’s immediate communities in the Cagayan Valley Region. GRBP’s CSR program is focused on preserving the environment in the region for the benefit of its core clients, most of whom are farmers, fishermen, and entrepreneurs.

The Earth Hour program in Cauayan City was led by the Fiesta Director-General, Mr. Aldous Rex Alingog, and Cauayan City Mayor Bernard Dy.

The Philippines has been an active participant in Earth Hour since 2008, counting the participation of some 1,600 cities, towns and villages.

The Earth Hour is a worldwide grassroots movement that seeks to unite the people around the world to protect the planet. The first earth Hour activity was held in 2007 in Sydney, Australia. About 2.2 million residents and 2,100 business participated in the inaugural of the Earth Hour. Since then, the Earth Hour movement has more than 7,000 cities and towns worldwide as participants.