Environment advocate Regina “Gina” Lopez officially took over as the new secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in a turnover ceremony in Quezon City on Friday.
Lopez replaced former Secretary Ramon Paje.
READ: Gina Lopez accepts DENR post
“In the spirit of service, the premier [and] non-negotiable is the betterment of our people. So this means the only thing which will determine whatever we will do is our people, their welfare. We will never ever do anything, which will put at risk the lives of our people,” Lopez said in a speech at the DENR headquarters.
Lopez said that her priority is for the DENR to work as a team and to build a helpdesk to attend to the people’s needs.
“We’re putting up a hotline on a regional level, email on a regional level,” She said.
She said she plans to work with the business sector and explore the biodiversity of the country to help alleviate poverty. She added that the topmost benefactor should be the Filipinos.
The youth sector will also be involved in the projects of the new DENR secretary through environmental summits, which Lopez said would be held all over the country.
New Environment Secretary Gina Lopez talks about her plans for the DENR. KATHRYN BAYLON, intern/INQUIRER.net
READ: Gina Lopez’s appointment a good decision
Lopez, who has strong views against destructive mining, said she will require all mining companies to be ISO 14001-certified to be at par with global standards.
Approximately only 30 percent of the mining companies in the country have the said certificate, Lopez added.
Lopez, who currently chairs the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, vowed to leave her position as chairman of ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, Inc. with her new government post. Kathryn Jedi Baylon and Kirsten Jamilla, INQUIRER.net trainees/KS/IDL