PRESS RELEASE
Breathing Billboard installation launched to visualize the true state of air quality in Metro Manila
QUEZON CITY, August 2, 2024 – In time for National Lung Month this August, clean air advocates have called for the urgent updating of the country’s air quality standards by installing a breathing billboard outside the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) in Quezon City today, providing a visualization of air quality conditions in Metro Manila.
“Breathing Billboard Lung Installation: Visualizing Air Pollution in Metro Manila” is jointly organized by 350 Pilipinas and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), on behalf of their Mobility Awards co-convenors (The Climate Reality Project Philippines, Pinay Bike Commuter Community, and MNL Moves), and Health Care Without Harm Southeast Asia, in collaboration with different groups campaigning for clean air in the Philippines, to raise awareness about the dangers of air pollution while also demonstrating stakeholders’ commitment in driving tangible changes in policy making and practices towards sustainable development and healthier lives for all the Filipinos.
Air pollution remains a major public health problem resulting in devastating economic losses, according to ICSC Partnerships and Advocacy Advisor Francis Joseph dela Cruz. Despite the Philippine Clean Air Act being signed into law in 1999, the Philippine National Ambient Air Quality Guideline Values (NAAQGV) remain significantly higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, which was updated in 2021.
“We recognize the efforts being undertaken by the national government, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Health (DOH), in pushing for cleaner and healthier air in the country. We have to act urgently in updating the Philippine air quality standards as close as possible to WHO safety levels, and we call for your further participation and support to ensure the protection of Filipinos from the harmful impacts of air pollution,” added dela Cruz.
The Breathing Billboard depicts human lungs, retrofitted with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and a fan that mimics breathing, to demonstrate the respiratory impacts of air pollution. During the launch, the color of the lungs are white, which symbolize healthy lungs, which will then gradually turn to gray, and eventually black in succeeding days once exposed to the air. The installation was conceptualized by the India-based campaigning organization Jhatkaa.org, to highlight how crucial clean air is to human health.
“Clean air is no longer just an environmental concern. Poor air quality is depriving us of one of the key ingredients to a healthy, maximally productive life. We need to protect the air to protect our health,” said Dr. Miriam Lalas, Head of the Air Pollution and Climate Change Subcommittee of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP), and a visiting consultant at LCP.
Following the launch of the Breathing Billboard, the organizers will be documenting the lungs per day and monitoring how many days it will take for the lungs to change color. The activity will conclude and the installation will be removed once the lungs turn black.
The Breathing Billboard installation is part of a series of activities commemorating the 25th year since Republic Act 8749, also known as The Philippine Clean Air Act, was enacted. Among the activities organized last June was “Ride For Their Lives: Bike for Clean Air and A Healthier Future”, a bike ride campaign joined by nearly 200 participants from the health sector, cycling groups, civil society, and private individuals. Highlighting the urgency of addressing air pollution in the country, the event mobilized the DOH, DENR, and nearly 60 medical societies to sign the statement of commitment and collaboration for clean air and a healthier future in the Philippines.
MORE ABOUT THE BREATHING BILLBOARD INSTALLATION
First installed in Bangalore, and in two other cities in Delhi, India in 2018, the Lung Billboard which was first conceptualized by the campaigning organization Jhatkaa.org, eventually traveled across different cities in India and was eventually adopted by different campaigners in Poland (18 towns and cities), Romania, London, and Serbia to spotlight the importance of clean air to human health.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
350 Pilipinas is part of 350.org, an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-centered renewable energy for all. It is a network of volunteers supporting the Philippine climate movement, aiming to create a secure and promising future by empowering individuals and communities, fostering justice, prosperity, and equality, all while ensuring a climate-safe environment. https://world.350.org/philippines/
Mobility Awards is jointly organized by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, MNL Moves, The Climate Reality Project Philippines, 350 Pilipinas, and Pinay Bike Commuter Community, in partnership with League of Cities Philippines and regional partners across the country. The initiative aims to inspire action, involvement, and coordination among local government units, workplaces, and commercial establishments aiming to improve conditions for urban mobility. https://www.mobilityawards.ph/
Health Care Without Harm Southeast Asia (HCWH SEA) is a regional office of HCWH, an international NGO that strives to transform health care worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint, becomes a community anchor for sustainability, and leads in the global movement for environmental health and justice. The organization’s work is centered around the mission of championing people’s right to health and a healthy environment. https://asia.noharm.org/
Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) is a Philippine-based non-governmental organization that advances climate, energy, and low-carbon solutions to enable fair and climate-resilient development at the national and international levels. https://icsc.ngo/
PHOTOS
Access photos of the Breathing Billboard launch here.
Photos (c) [LEO M. SABANGAN II]
CONTACT
Sanaf Marcelo, ICSC: [email protected], +63 968 886 3466, +63 917 149 5649 ###