{"id":227409,"date":"2019-08-19T19:03:36","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T23:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=227409"},"modified":"2019-08-19T19:03:36","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T23:03:36","slug":"ginas-passion-to-save-world-was-contagious-pcoo-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/08\/19\/ginas-passion-to-save-world-was-contagious-pcoo-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"Gina\u2019s passion to save world was \u2018contagious\u2019: PCOO chief"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Lopez, 65, died on Monday from multiple organ failure after battling cancer, according to a statement from ABS-CBN (King Rodriguez\/Presidential Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar described on Monday former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez as an environmental advocate whose strong anti-illegal mining stance was \u201ccontagious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lopez, 65, died on Monday from multiple organ failure after battling cancer, according to a statement from ABS-CBN.<\/p>\n

\u201cGina was one of the original members of the Duterte Cabinet that I had the privilege working closely with, especially during the height of her anti-illegal mining campaign,\u201d Andanar said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cGina\u2019s passion to save the world was contagious. She is truly a good maverick and patriot. The world will not be the same without a Gina Lopez,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, meanwhile, admitted that he and Lopez did not always agree on the same policies but never lost respect for each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had some slight differences on certain policies during our stint as members of the cabinet but remained as friends,\u201d Medialdea said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe extend our condolences to the entire family and shall offer prayers for the eternal repose of her soul. Rest in peace, Gina\u2026\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Former Special Assistant to the President and now Senator Christopher \u201cBong\u201d Go thanked Lopez for her service and for being a model of true service to the Filipino people.<\/p>\n

Go described her as \u201cpassionate, dedicated and humble\u201d and \u201ca public servant and as an Earth warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a fearless advocate and a tireless philanthropist, dedicating most of her life for the betterment of her fellow Filipinos. Her exceptional dedication in protecting our environment has no equal today,\u201d Go said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMa’am Gina,\u00a0taus-pusong pasasalamat po sa inyong hindi napapantayang serbisyo sa kapwa Pilipino. Isa kang katangi-tanging modelo ng tunay na pagmamalasakit sa kapwa tao<\/em>\u00a0(my most sincere thank you for your unmatched service for fellow Filipinos. You are a model or true service to Filipino). May your legacy continue for the generations to come,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Duterte appointed Lopez as Environment Secretary but was rejected by the Commission on Appointments (CA) on May 3, 2017.<\/p>\n

During her term, Lopez ordered the closure of over-mining companies as these affected watersheds, and also threatened to ban open-pit mining in the country, a move which did not sit well with the mining industry.<\/p>\n

Prior to being Environment chief, Lopez was also long-time chairperson of ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar described on Monday former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez as an environmental …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":89154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227413,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227409\/revisions\/227413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}