Senators pay tribute to ex-DENR chief

Lopez, the long-time chairperson of ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) and President Rodrigo Duterte’s former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary, passed away at the age of 65. (File Photo: Gina Lopez/ Facebook)

MANILA — Senators on Monday paid tribute to the late environmentalist and philanthropist Gina Lopez, who died due to multiple organ failure.

Lopez, the long-time chairperson of ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) and President Rodrigo Duterte’s former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary, passed away at the age of 65.

Senator Bong Go, who had the honor of working with Lopez in the Cabinet, said he deeply mourned “with great sadness” the passing of the former environment secretary.

“As a former colleague in the government, I know how passionate, dedicated and humble she was as a public servant and as an Earth warrior,” the former Special Assistant to the President said.

“Her exceptional dedication in protecting our environment has no equal today. May your legacy continue for the generations to come,” Go said.

Meanwhile, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto described Lopez as a “great secretary of defense of our natural resources.”

“She was a lifelong warrior for Mother Earth. She walked her talk, be it in defense of helpless children or displaced communities, or in nursing back to life polluted waters or ravaged forests,” he said.

“Our future can only be made secure if we continue her kind of stewardship, one that is not focused in parceling national patrimony into blocks for exploitation, but in delineating wild spots where profit has no dominion,” Recto said.

For Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Lopez was a “real warrior for the conservation, protection of the environment” who carried out her tasks well as part of the government.

“I admire her very much. She brought her environmental activism into every Filipino home in her travels around our beautiful archipelago,” he said.

“She never shirked from a real patriot’s duty to say the truth, which was often made evident when environmental destruction caused by irresponsible mining and other forms of over-extraction of natural resources was at issue,” Zubiri said.

Meanwhile, Senator Manny Pacquiao thanked Lopez for how she influenced Filipinos to love the Philippines by protecting the environment and caring for our people.

“Her passion was undeniable. Her commitment was unquestionable. She lived her life to the fullest. Her legacy will inspire us to fulfill our mission with courage and conviction. Paalam, kaibigan (Farewell, my friend),” Pacquiao said.

Senator Sonny Angara said Lopez spent a lifetime pouring her considerable talents in bringing to the mainstream the powerless and the voiceless, who exist forgotten in the margins of society.

“She even took it upon herself to represent a constituency that cannot vote – trees, fish, rivers, and wildlife – because she correctly believed that our continued existence and that of our children is dependent on theirs,” he said.

“She was a one-person green warrior who took the fight to where it matters – in boardrooms, chatrooms, government offices, and in her favorite office – out in the open, under a forest canopy or underwater, where she was in her element with people she loved in a country she never gave up hope on,” Angara said.

Senator Francis Pangilinan honored Lopez as “a woman of courage” and a “firebrand.”

“At the Senate, we stood by her appointment for DENR Secretary because we believe that such an important position should be held by someone who understands how critical it is to prioritize the environment. Someone who is unafraid to butt heads with heavyweights who are harming our natural resources. Someone who will not hesitate to implement bold, necessary reforms to save our country and our planet,” he said.

“She was all that. In or out of government, her life was about tireless creativity for all our collective future, through our children and our environment. Rest well and rest in peace, Gina,” Pangilinan said.