About two years ago, we had an environmental activity in our City called Road to Laudato si (encyclical on the environment by Pope Francis).  I was a co-emcee to the Monsignor of our Diocese during the program.  The event was held in the center of the biggest Mall in the City and when we started, we had a relatively small audience.  Even if the audio was loud enough all around the Mall to know that there was an event in the center, people continued to go about their shopping around the Mall.

Little did they know that we had a surprise for them. We didn't announce that we had invited a celebrity to give a talk about how each of us can play a part in protecting our environment.  About an hour into the program, our celebrity arrived and like nails to a magnet, it seemed like everyone in the Mall had instantly gravitated towards the center to see and hear our speaker.  He's a well-known dancer so he started with a dance number and having gotten everyone's attention, he went on to speak about the environment.  This celebrity was my friend, Jhong Hilario.

Just today, I read that our former Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Ms. Gina Lopez tapped into the pool of talents of the ABS-CBN television network (which her family owns).  She put together what she calls the G Squad, which is composed of young celebrities from their network, who will join her in promoting environmental protection in the tv show that she hosts called G Diaries.

Some of the celebrities are famous young actors and actresses, who each have their own story to tell about their environmental advocacies.  Their star power and influence specially among young people will boost environmental consciousness among the youth. These celebrities will join Ms. Gina Lopez as she visits beautiful destinations all over the Philippines.  They will find out the stories of local communities and how they care for their natural resources.  Some of the celebrities are Gretchen Ho, Antonette Taus, Elmo Magalona and Janella Salvador. 

Actually, there's an annual concert called Earthday Jam organized by a well-known rockstar, Lou Bonnevie, which brings together bands and singers.  It goes on into the early mornings and people watch the performances and listen to celebrities sharing all about their environmental advocacy.  This is an example of how we use star power to encourage people to protect the environment.