Extreme? Gina Lopez says she’s just principled, passionate
Is Environment Secretary Gina Lopez “extreme?”
Lopez said she has no idea if she is extreme or not but she can tell the world that her favorite song is “I believe I can fly” even in the middle of her confirmation hearing at the Commission on Appointments.
At the resumption of the CA committee on environment and natural resources’ hearing on Tuesday, Senator Bam Aquino asked Lopez if she was an extreme person as portrayed in the media.
“I don’t know what the definition of extreme is. I love my country and I love the people and I’m non-negotiable on my principles,” the controversial official told the committee.
“I’m a very out of the box person. I work with the NPA (New People’s Army), I work, I work with the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front), I work with the mining companies so I’m very out if the box so I can do anything and everything but my non-negotiable commitment is to our people and the principles of integrity. I’m never gonna budge there because something in me will die.”
Denr Secretary Gina Lopez defends her position at the senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday May 2, 2017. INQUIRER / Grig C. Montegrande
READ: Gina Lopez: I love the NPA
“But in terms of possibilities of what can happen, my God! My other favorite song is I believe I can fly…so I wanna fly and then just fly and then fly with everyone and work with everyone like every single person here in this room has a dream…”
“I can work with everyone and everyone but my non-negotiable commitment is to integrity . I will never sacrifice my principle so I don’t know if you call that extreme?” added Lopez, whose video of her singing the song “I believe I can fly” has been circulating in social media.
While she may be a “passionate” person, Lopez assured the committee that she is a law-abiding person.
READ: Gina Lopez apologizes to reporter
“I wanna assure the Commission that I’m a law abiding citizen. I will never ever, ever, ever do anything in DENR, which is against the law. My temperament is just passionate but it doesn’t mean that I’m gonna break the law,” she said. IDL/rga
