May 14, 2026 – Baguio City’s O-shaped overpass is now shining blue following the recent installation of blue lights by the City Engineering Office.
City Engineer Richard Lardizabal said two rolls of blue lights were donated by Mr. Fernando Sy to Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong in support of the city government’s initiative to enhance safety, visibility, and public security in overpasses.
The project, called Baguio’s Lifeline for Urban Emotional-wellness (B.L.U.E.), is a carefully engineered ambient public wellness lighting system aimed at transforming the city into a network of safety, hope, and wellness. The initiative was inspired by Japan’s pioneering blue light interventions, which are designed to reduce distress and enhance public wellbeing through human-centered urban design.
City Health Services Office – Mental Health and Wellness Coordinator Ricky Ducas Jr. said the blue lights are not merely decorative but serve as a vital component of emotional safety infrastructure.
Ducas added that the innovative environmental suicide prevention initiative was inspired by Japan’s railway blue light interventions, which reportedly reduced suicide incidents by 74 to 84 percent.
This prompted the city government to adopt blue LED lighting systems in high-risk public areas such as overpasses and isolated structures within Baguio City as part of a layered prevention strategy and proven environmental deterrent.
According to Ducas, research has shown that the use of blue lights in high-risk areas can help reduce emotional stress and foster calmness, create psychological interruption for impulsive acts, enhance visibility and perceived safety, provide an environmental calming intervention, and support human-centered urban safety infrastructure.
The City Health Services Office (CHSO) is also set to procure additional blue lights for installation in other key intervention areas, including the I-shaped pedestrian overpass along Harrison Road including the waiting sheds, modernized jeepneys and buses, student corridors, and transport terminals.
These identified zones will also be integrated with mental health hotlines and CCTV monitoring systems.
“We are lighting safe paths, ensuring every route leads to hope, and reminding everyone — you are not alone, choose life,” Ducas said. **JM Samidan
