One of the greatest leaders I could think of is the late
Regina Paz “Gina” La’O Lopez or more popularly known as
Gina Lopez. When you try to search her name on the internet,
she would be described as a Filipino environmentalist and
philanthropist who served as the Secretary of the Philippines’
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. I knew
Gina Lopez through the news and some environmental T.V.
shows. Well, for me, our government hadn’t been as serious
about our environment as Gina Lopez. It was the first time that I
have been able to witness our government handling such issue
with a better hand.
Our current president, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
was the one who appointed Ms. Gina Lopez as the head of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. It is said
that the president visited her during his courtesy visit in Davao City where Lopez initiated an
environmental lecture. On her first day in the office, Gina Lopez immediately hit the ground with
auditing all mining sites and firms in the entire republic. She also stripped environmental
certificates from a chunk of the mining industry due to massive violations against the
environment and the law, which was done for the very first time in the history of the Department
of Environment. Due to Gina’s great work, she was immediately recognized and supported by
the public.
Few of the many notable certificates that were stripped were those for mining companies
doing operations in Semirara Island (a key biodiversity area) in Antique, Eastern Samar, Surigao
del Sur which is home to indigenous Lumad communities, and Cordillera Administrative Region,
which is the melting pot of the northern Luzon indigenous people. Lopez advocated a 100%
renewable energy Philippines and was vehemently opposed to mining having stated, "The
Philippines does not need mining." Her anti-mining sentiment was backed by years of Philippine
research on mining, both ecologically and economically. She also said that there would be no
mining operations of any form on Palawan, which is popularly known as the last ecological
frontier of the country.
Within less than 2 months, she audited all mining firms from Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao. She was also an indigenous people (IP) advocate. She immediately established
forums for consultations between the DENR and the indigenous people sector in the Philippines,
the first time a DENR secretary did so. She also established the first ever DENR public hotline
wherein the public could report all environmental violations of any entity in the country directly
to the DENR and her office. She was against nuclear energy due to years of research on the
matter. The Nuclear Power Plant in Bataan will only contribute to less than 0.5% to the National
Energy Grid when operated and its costs will be much higher, making it unsustainable. She
preferred the establishment of more wind and solar power plants, which are massively cheaper
and sustainable in the long-run, and the possible cooperation of the Philippines and Australia to
establish the first wave energy plants in Asia. The Philippines is the center of the Pacific
Typhoon Belt, bestowing it with the most maximized wind and wave shocks in the world.
In a public announcement, she told the media that all buffer zones in all protected areas in
the country shall also be revitalized into their natural state. She was also pushing for the
establishment of numerous protected areas in the country such as the West Panay Mountain
Range National Park. She also announced that the UP Arboretum would be an ecological
paradise where the informal settlers in the area will be the partners for its development. Her
environmental policies were much criticized by some big business ventures and pro-mining
lawmakers in the republic (her father owns one of the biggest companies in the country), but
were backed by numerous environmental and human rights NGO's. In a recent survey, Filipinos
backed Lopez' environmental policy by a huge majority. She was called a symbol and champion
of environmental conservation in the country ever since.
Lopez's appointment as Environment Secretary was rejected by the Commission on
Appointments (CA) in a vote of 8–16 on May 3, 2017 amid issues over her controversial policies
and alleged incompetence. She was the second member of President Rodrigo Duterte's cabinet to
be rejected by the Commission on Appointments following former Department of Foreign
Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay. In a press conference after the announcement of her rejection,
Lopez thanked the eight CA members who "voted according to their conscience" and urged the
legislators to look after the needs of the poor and not of big businesses. She said "it is
unfortunate that business interest have in fact run the day." She added "if government co-opts to
big businesses, then what hope does the poor have?”
This is why I see Gina Lopez as a great leader. She had a great influence with the people,
she cares for the Filipino’s and even the environment. She took her job seriously, she did things
that were not done before, and she was a great advocate. But sadly, some people saw her as
someone who is incompetent. Some people hated her because she was doing the right thing.
Amidst all the amazing things she’s done even for a short while, some people rejected her
because she was a great worker and leader. The Philippines got Gina Lopez, but our country
wasted such a great leader. Now, it’s already too late.
