San Jose on Saturday joined a record breaking 1,660 cities and municipalities in the country that heeded the call to turn off their lights for just one hour.

Mayor Jose T. Villarosa said that the observance of Earth Hour was a success in the Occidental Mindoro municipality as residential and commercial establishments switched off their lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Villarosa issued a memorandum last Friday enjoining municipal employees to join Earth Hour as he urged his constituents to also take part in the annual global campaign to raise awareness on climate change.

Earth Hour Philippines 2011 said that a record-breaking 1,661 cities and municipalities in the Philippines joined this year’s campaign.

In Manila, several commercial establishments joined the Earth Hour by turning off their lights and reducing their electrical consumption for one hour.

Last year, 1,076 cities and municipalities joined, a significant increase to note when the inaugural Earth Hour began in 2008 with only 50 cities and towns participating.

Earth Hour Philippines National Director Atty. Gia Ibay said that this year’s celebration is an example of public and private sector collaboration and a true celebration of climate solutions.

Earth Hour is a global action spearheaded by the World Wide Fund for nature which aims to combat climate change by urging every citizen to turn off their lights for one hour.