The sacred right to life and our environment

Atty. Gloria Ramos

It was quite disheartening to know of the passage by the House of Representatives of the bill restoring death penalty in the country. Only one representative from Cebu, Raul del Mar of the first district, was among the Courageous 54 who voted against it.

Life is sacred and the right to life is inviolate and universally recognized, just like equality, justice and freedom. The bill, should it become a law, is a big step backwards in the promotion and protection of human rights and will even mean a disregard of our Constitution and reneging the various conventions that our government committed to honor and perform to protect the human rights of its citizens.

Our justice system needs reforms but imposing capital punishment for drug-related offenses will not be the solution. The problem goes deeper than a short-term solution of exterminating life.

The fight to protect our right to a healthy and balanced ecology is anchored on the time-honored principle of our right to life. Destroying the essential life support system upon which we all depend for survival is a serious threat to life, health and livelihood. That is the reason why the State is made the duty-holder insofar as the protection of human rights including the right to life and a healthy environment is concerned.

Another news that has hugged the limelight lately was the confirmation hearing at the Commission on Appointments with respect to the appointment of Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez. She is a staunch defender of a healthy environment for all, equality in accessing natural resources and social justice. While some mining interests might not like her, she has a good heart, cares for our marginalized sectors and knows that our laws are meant for all of us, not just a handful, to benefit from the services that Mother Nature provides for free.

She is among the few who have truly reached out to civil society for support and collaboration in ensuring the DENR performs its basic mandate as the “primary agency responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the country’s environment and natural resources, specifically forest and grazing lands, mineral resources, including those in reservation and watershed areas, and lands of the public domain, as well as the licensing and regulation of all natural resources as may be provided for by law in order to ensure equitable sharing of the benefits derived therefrom for the welfare of the present and future generations of Filipinos.”

Under its charter, the environmental agency should be guided by the following objectives:

1. Assure the availability and sustainability of the country’s natural resources through judicious use and systematic restoration or replacement, whenever possible;

2. Increase the productivity of natural resources in order to meet the demands for forest, mineral, and land resources of a growing population;

3. Enhance the contribution of natural resources for achieving national economic and social development;

4. Promote equitable access to natural resources by the different sectors of the population; and

5. Conserve specific terrestrial and marine areas representative of the Philippine natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations.

(Executive Order No. 182, S. 1987).

Looking at the goals that the agency commits to meet, the head of the DENR requires a person of courage, integrity and the necessary experience and political will to ensure that we tread the path to sustainability, where economic, social and environment goals intertwine.

Before she took on the top leadership position at the DENR, Secretary Lopez immersed herself in grassroots work, learned so much from the rich experience in dealing face-to-face with the challenges that our people had to confront because of ecologically unsound projects and was part of the team looking at solutions that are economically rewarding but sustainable, such as eco-tourism.

La Mesa Ecopark was once a cockpit arena, but now generates revenues of P40M annually. It is popular among nature lovers and tourists. “ABS-CBN Foundation under her leadership reforested it and turned it into a beautiful park.”

“In leading the DENR to achieve its goals, Lopez follows the principles of convergence and area management. With convergence, she means doing tie-ups with other government agencies while area management means managing the two arms of the DENR – the development and business arm.

“On the other side of the civic centers is business or entrepreneurship. We do business through the Natural Resources Development Corp. (NRDC), which is a Government-Owned and -Controlled Corp. (GOCC) attached to the DENR that can do business with the communities,” she disclosed.

The NRDC was created in 1982 and is mandated to promote investments in natural resource-based industries by providing financial, technical and management assistance.” (https://r6.denr.gov.ph/index.php/86-region-news-items/765-qbuild-me-paradiseq-denr-secretary-gina-lopez)
We believe in the vision of a better quality of life for all Filipinos enunciated by DENR Secretary Gina Lopez. It is our hope that she is allowed to continue her work as head of the DENR. It is not by sheer chance that she is one of the most trusted cabinet appointees under the Duterte administration.