DAVAO CITY —- Environmental advocate and former environment and natural resources secretary Regina “Gina” Lopez on Monday succumb to brain cancer. She was 65.
Lopez who championed children’s right, an Anti-mining and environment activist served as environment secretary but the Commission on Appointments refused to concur her.
Malacañang mourned on Monday the death of former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, who succumbed to brain cancer.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo described her as one of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s “most passionate” Cabinet members.
“News has reached the Office of the President that former Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Regina Paz L. Lopez has passed, and it is with a heavy heart that we express our sincerest condolences to her family, relatives, friends and loved ones,” Panelo said in a statement.
“The Palace deeply grieves the demise of one of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s most passionate Cabinet members whose environmental advocacy and legacy remains unparalleled to this day,” Panelo said
Lopez used to be the managing director of ABS-CBN Foundation and established the hotline Bantay Bata 163, which was awarded for excellence by the United Nations.
She was the first Southeast Asian to be given the UNESCO Kalinga Award, for her dedication to the protection and preservation of the environment and being a philanthropist.
Lopez also organized Bantay Kalikasan, which received the International Public Relations Award of Excellence for the Environment in 1997 and Outstanding Manilans Award for the Environment in 2009.
The Lopez family requests that in lieu of flowers and Mass cards, donations can be made to the AFI (ABS-CBN Foundation Inc).
“With Gina’s passing, we lost a fervent advocate of children’s rights and protection, a passionate proponent of sustainable livelihood among the underprivileged, and an unswerving champion for environment preservation,” ABS-CBN said in a statement.
