What do Buckingham Palace, the Singapore Flyer, Cairo Tower in Egypt, New Zealand's Sky Tower, the Edsa People Power Monument and the Cebu Capitol building have in common?

They are all lighted with eco-friendly light emitting diode (LED) bulbs installed by the Philips Lighting Co.

About P3 million worth of LED bulbs were installed in the Cebu Capitol, an American-designed pre-war structure which was declared a historical landmark by the National Historical Institute (NHI).

Launched last month, the lighted Capitol building will be maintained by the company free of charge, Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre said.

He said the LED bulbs allow the Capitol to save 70 percent in power bills.

No maintenance or replacement of bulbs is needed for the next 15 years at least.

“If there will be some problems, we will just call Philips Philippines, for as long as we need them,” Pelayre told CEBU DAILY NEWS.

Philips Philippines shouldered the cost of lighting the dome-shaped edifice.

Pelayre said Philips officials met him last year after learning about the NHI declaration of the Capitol building and offered to include it in their showcase of lighted historical sites in the country.

Pelayre said Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia readily agreed.

The Cebu Capitol is the only site chosen from the Visayas and Mindanao.

The building is now much brighter with the “daylight effect” of flat bulbs mounted on external walls and pillars, said Pelayre.

Governor Garcia earlier said she declined to use colored LED bulbs to preserve the magnificence of the building and give it the respect it deserves as the province's seat of government.

The Cebu Capitol is now part of a list of global landmarks illuminated by Philips LED systems.

The list includes the New Zealand’s Sky Tower, England’s Buckingham Palace, the Singapore Flyer, China’s Science and Technology Building, and the Cairo Tower in Egypt.

According to the Philips website, the People Power Monument at the corner of Temple Hill Drive and EDSA in Quezon City, was lighted using Philips’ new LED fixtures like the ClearLine, ColorBlast, eW Cove Powercore and Projector LED lamps.

The iconic monument was lit up last February 24 on the eve of the 12th anniversary of the first People Power Revolution.