DENR Secretary Gina Lopez expressed elation at the Senate’s unanimous concurrence to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on Tuesday, days after President Rodrigo Duterte ratified the landmark global environment pact.
“I’m very happy. This is a great victory for the planet. President Duterte set the stage for the Senate’s concurrence to the Paris Agreement," said Lopez, who had earlier thanked the President for supporting her confirmation.
According to Lopez, the President's recent statements regarding the need to strictly regulate mining and the ratification of the Agreement show the President "deeply cares for the country."
"This joint executive and legislative effort shows our unwavering commitment to protect the environment on a global scale,” said Lopez.
The Paris Agreement calls for the reduction of carbon emissions, which have been linked to the occurrence of natural disasters and extreme weather phenomena such as the supertyphoons that have struck the country in recent years.
Twenty-two senators unanimously approved Senate Resolution No. 320 on the climate pact. The President signed the Agreement last February 28.
The DENR chief also made special mention of Senate Environment Committee Chair Sen. Loren Legarda, who the Secretary characterized as a tireless advocate and champion of the environment.
“The nation is thankful to Senator Legarda for her decades-long crusade to popularize and elevate environmental issues," Lopez said. ###
In time for the Women’s Month celebration, Environment Secretary Gina Lopez was hailed “Woman of Courage” by the country’s alliance of Filipino women –GABRIELA.
At the same time, the group, which advocates for women’s issues, also expressed their strong support for the confirmation of Lopez as environment chief by the bicameral Commission of Appointments.
Gabriela officers and members gave Lopez a surprise visit in her residence on Friday, March 10, to confer her the recognition.
In its press statement, GABRIELA has named her “Woman of Courage” for her “demonstrated daring to stand up for the general welfare of women, indigenous peoples (IPs) and the Filipino nation vis-à-vis the encroaching interests of commercial despoilers of the environment.”
GABRIELA also said it has bestowed Lopez the recognition for defending the remaining natural resources and putting first the welfare of succeeding generations “before the short-term gains of wealthy business monopolies”.
The women’s group also cited the DENR chief for keeping her position “without fear of personal loss, keeping in mind the correctness of declaring our mineral and timber wealth for the sole benefit of Filipinos” and for defending the rights of indigenous peoples.
For her part, Lopez expressed gratitude to Gabriela and underscored the “priceless role of women in the environment and the society as a whole.” ###
Top Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) officials on Sunday belied claims made by the Chamber of Mines against DENR Secretary Gina Lopez during last week’s confirmation hearings that she did not follow due process in the cancellation of 23 mining permits last February.
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) is one of the most vocal oppositors to Lopez’s appointment. Its representative read a statement during last Thursday’s Commission on Appointment (CA) hearing at the Senate, and stated that the DENR Secretary was unfit to lead the environment agency.
DENR Undersecretary Arturo Valdez, who led the first successful Phililppine expedition to Mount Everest in 2006, said that the mining sector is reeling and overreacting to the recent mass cancellations, which has happened to the industry for the first time.
“The audit results were unfavorable to several mining companies, which may have shocked them because they’re not used to an Environment Secretary who stops at nothing and actually is the first one to publicly declare that she will strictly enforce our environmental laws,” Valdez noted.
DENR Undersecretary Maria Paz Luna, engaged in environmental law and policy practice for two decades before joining the department, meanwhile, clarified that DENR followed all due process requirements in the mine cancellations.
“The audits for mines started in July 2016 and it took all of eight months. Sixteen teams went to the field. DENR Regional Directors were in fact assigned to areas not within their jurisdiction. We made sure to have a cross-regional check and balance. There were representatives from civil society and other agencies of government were present in the mine examinations,” Luna stressed.
“The audit was conducted by going to the operations of the mines themselves. The mining companies knew of these audits; they allowed these audits. After tests were conducted by the teams, the DENR sent the companies the audit reports,” explained Luna.
Luna said that the affected mining firms were given an opportunity to respond to the findings of the DENR.
“From those responses, the Secretary made her own assessment and came out with a decision which is her discretion to do,” said the lawyer.
Lopez informed CA members that as DENR Secretary, she was bound to comply with due process in the cancellation of mine operations and that she performed her duties with social justice, the common good, the general welfare, and passion for protecting, preserving and promoting the environment in mind.
The COMP accused Lopez of bias, which the group said prevented the Secretary from appreciating the mechanics of the Mining Act.
Undersecretary Luna countered by stressing that “there’s no one else who can enforce our environmental laws without fear or favor as much as Sec. Gina Lopez can."
“Someone with integrity and with political backing from the President can finally do what this country has been waiting for in a long time, and that’s the enforcement of our environmental laws.”
Luna further branded as patently untrue the various oppositors’ claims that there was no transparency in the DENR audit results.
“The technical review reports have been posted online. People can also go to the office and request for access to the information that we have under our Freedom of Information policy at the DENR. The technical review committee results and the closure orders are all for the public to see. There’s nothing to hide.” ###
Secretary Gina Lopez assured members of the Commission on Appointments (CA) that her focus is not only on mining, but also on other areas of environmental protection and sustainable development that are within the mandate of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Lopez said her "controversial" decisions against erring mining companies are just among the many things she did in over half a year she has been in the DENR.
"I'm not only about mining," Lopez told CA members during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
Among her string of accomplishments are the closure of 50 illegal quarrying operations in Mt. Banahaw, dismantling of illegal structures in Laguna Lake, stoppage of ash spill in Bataan province, and intensified operations in so-called "illegal logging hotspots" in the country which resulted in the confiscation of massive quantities of illegally cut timber and filing of charges against illegal loggers.
Lopez said she also started her campaign to rid the DENR of corrupt officials and employees. "I have adopted a policy of one-strike out. I have zero tolerance for corruption."
The DENR chief also shared to CA members her plan to create ecological economic zones to help move local communities out of poverty in record time.
"I am confident that we can get our country out of poverty. I feel that genuine economic growth is genuine when it brings on social justice," Lopez said in her opening statement.
She added: "The stand in DENR to bring social justice is what I'm going to call area development -- looking at the area, looking at its potential and the magnificence, and maneuver it so that the resources benefit the people living there.
"It is to this end that I'm committing my full commitment to make this a reality."
Lopez said her extensive experience in building ecological economic sites will help her in providing sustainable livelihood to local communities without destroying the environment.
"I have had the experience of building models which worked and that is where I wanna go," Lopez said.
"These models have resulted in communities that we call ecological economic, educational zones and that is exactly I wanna go in DENR -- to build models and to build many models which show that we can do it and we can make it happen," she added.
Responding to questions from CA members, Lopez defended her decision to close down 23 mining operations due to serious environmental violations and to scrap 75 mineral production sharing agreements or MPSAs with mining companies in watershed areas.
"In watersheds, the water goes down to feed agriculture which benefits people living there. If you mine in a watershed, you invariably hit the water table that supports life in the area," Lopez pointed out.
She also said that it is within her mandate as DENR secretary to declare no mining in watershed areas. "I'm just following the law (Philippine Mining Act of 1995)," she pointed out.
Lopez also warned of repercussions of open pit mining, which mining companies could do if they are allowed to operate in watersheds.
"Open pit mining is illegal and makes soil acidic," Lopez said. #
Environment Undersecretary Art Valdez, who led the country's first contingent that conquered Mount Everest in 2006 and 2007, underscored on Tuesday the importance of the Commission on Appointment's vote on the confirmation of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Gina Lopez, who again faces the CA on March 8.
"Tomorrow's CA vote is important. Not only will our Senators and Congressmen be deciding on the fate of a good person whose heart and mind has been proven so many times to be in the right place, but her cause, her fight is righteous," Valdez said.
Lopez's confirmation has faced stiff opposition from mining operators who questioned the DENR's cancellation of 23 mining concessions due to violations of environmental laws.
Valdez emphasized that the matter of the environment crosses political lines, religious affiliations, age, gender, economic condition, and is an issue that affects every Filipino.
"We're not just talking about current individual issues on mines, watershed protection, illegal logging or the dismantling of illegal fishpens. The more crucial and overarching concern is protecting an environment that can sustain us at present, and which our children and generations of Filipinos yet unborn can still enjoy in the future."
Environment groups have expressed support for Lopez's appointment and have sided with the Secretary in her row with pro-mining interests.
These groups cite mining industry statistics showing that the gross value added in mining averaged about 0.65 percent of GDP for 2012-2016. Metallic and non-metallic exports, for instance, account for only 5% of total exports.
"The forests, mountains, rivers, flora and fauna that we lose now due to failure to enforce our environmental laws in exchange for short-term economic gains cannot be replaced anymore. They are lost forever. I'm sure our lawmakers don't want that. The CA vote is nothing less than a once in a lifetime opportunity for our Senators and Congressmen to affirm their stand on the environment." Valdez clarified. ###
