The floods and landslides from Typhoon Tino in Cebu and Negros vindicate former DENR Secretary Gina Lopez's warning that 'nature will fight back if we abuse it.' As the next major storm, Uwan, approaches, it highlights ongoing environmental governance failures in the Philippines. Her 2017 rejection by the Commission on Appointments has led to persistent ecosystem degradation.
In 2017, Gina Lopez defended her appointment as Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary before the Commission on Appointments, but she was rejected for prioritizing ecosystem protection over short-term exploitation. She argued that forests, rivers, and minerals are not commodities but national assets held in trust for future generations. Seven years later, the tragedies from Typhoon Tino prove her vision correct.
In Cebu, rapid expansion of quarrying and reclamation with minimal oversight left hillsides barren, unable to absorb rainfall, leading to slope collapses and widespread flooding that crippled transportation, tourism, and trade. In Negros, uplands degraded by decades of logging and small-scale mining lost their water retention capacity, causing river overflows, inundated farmlands, destroyed bridges, and isolated towns. These incidents are not random but results of weak regulation and capture of public institutions by private and political interests.
Lopez championed the Masungi Georeserve in Rizal as a model for collaborative land rehabilitation and conservation. Under her leadership, the DENR signed a memorandum of agreement with the Masungi Georeserve Foundation to restore degraded portions of the Upper Marikina Watershed. However, after her departure, DENR support weakened, leading to harassment of rangers and legal challenges to the agreements, undermining trust between state and civil society.
Similar issues persist in dredging operations in Zambales, where large-scale extraction continues under the pretext of 'flood control' and 'river rehabilitation' despite local opposition and ecological damage, with inconsistent DENR oversight. The contrast with current DENR Secretary Raphael 'Popo' Lotilla, known for integrity, technical competence, and a data-driven approach, offers cautious optimism. He could institutionalize reforms like strict enforcement in mining and quarrying, coordinated land-use and disaster policies, and public participation to build climate resilience.
As the Philippines braces for Uwan, which could bring heavy rainfall and flooding to Luzon, Lopez's legacy reminds that environmental protection is a governance imperative, not idealism, essential for sustainable development and public welfare.