A staunch advocate of climate change awareness and mitigation, as well as the promotion and preservation of the country’s rich arts and culture, the Philippines’ longest-serving senator today has proven herself unrelenting in pushing for laws that benefit the Filipino people, the country and the planet.
By JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ
Decades ago, Sen. Loren Legarda was already waging a “noise barrage” on climate change, warning government leaders and the everyman alike that it could be disastrous. But not all who heard her voice listened — at the country’s peril.
The unusual strength and pattern of typhoons that have visited the Philippines in recent months have been attributed to climate change, a phenomenon more Filipinos are taking seriously, albeit belatedly.
“I authored the Climate Change Act in 2007, which created the Commission on Climate Change and which mandated every local government unit to have a local climate change action plan. And if I may say so, 20 years ago, long before anyone understood what climate change meant, long before anyone understood what disaster risk reduction meant, it was my advocacy. During my days as a journalist, I would do reports on water security and climate change and people did not understand. Even when I was a new senator, people would say, ‘Why does she keep on talking about climate change?’ There was a debate once when I was a candidate for a political office and a candidate said, ‘So, why is climate change your advocacy when the problems of our farmers and fisherfolk are so numerous?’ I said, ‘That is the reason why.’”
Loren has sat on the board of the Green Climate Fund, one of the funding mechanisms based on the Paris Agreement (the Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, France, in 2015).
“The funds are there. We must compel the industrialized and wealthy nations to contribute more based on their commitment to the Green Climate Fund. And the bureaucratic red tape for vulnerable nations to access the funding, must be shortened, abbreviated, to make it easier to access the funds. And once it’s accessed by the country, we should see the wise and effective utilization of the funds from the Green Climate Fund,” she points out.
Loren, now on her fourth term as senator, believes the Philippines is the best example of how climate change resilience and disaster resilience must be done.
“We have all the laws in place, but I think the gap lies in the implementation. If we are to take seriously the mapping of our country, meaning where we are not supposed to build structures, homes and buildings, whether schools, etc., in certain areas, then we would have less loss of lives. But if we allow, again, homes in no-build areas… in shores at risk of a tsunami, at the foot of mountains…”
“Under the Climate Change Act, each local government unit, and all the 42,000 barangays, must have a local climate change action plan. In that action plan, you know your vulnerabilities, hazards and risks because how are you able to protect yourself if you don’t know where the risks lie?”
“Since 2007, almost 18 years ago, I’ve been saying it: We reduce disaster risk, we reduce loss of lives.”
Heart and soul of the Filipino
Loren reportedly holds the distinction of having received some of the highest number of votes of any nationally elected official in post EDSA-history. Her causes, including her efforts to mitigate climate change and her staunch support for Philippine culture and the arts, have always been vindicated at the polls.
Loren believes culture is the life and soul of the Filipino people, and she puts in the hours to keep the heart of culture beating within them.
“Culture is the life and soul of the Filipino people. Imagine a nation not preserving its various languages and dialects. Imagine a nation not knowing its heritage, traditions and rituals. Imagine a nation not knowing its forebears and forefathers or not knowing its indigenous peoples and the indigenous cultural communities. Imagine a nation just with the high-rise buildings, but not knowing its biodiversity, forests, lakes, seas and oceans. Imagine a nation that does not know the history of its heroes and heroines, and not just the declared heroes.”
Aside from crafting laws and participating in marathon Senate sessions that end at dawn, Loren goes the extra mile.
“I’m fortunate to have, let’s say, a certain influence in government resources. So, we’re able to give jobs, we’re able to give medical help. But I also utilize my own personal resources because I’ve been blessed with the capacity to help people, but that has limitations as well. Perhaps, also limitation of knowledge, presence, technology, people and employment. I wish I could have more people, like-minded individuals who share my causes, who share my work ethic, who could be the wind beneath my wings, so to speak.”
She doesn’t for one moment think she can stop working because she, as some people think, “already has it all.”
“The more you have, the more you see that you don’t have. Because it’s not a matter of having it for yourself. I’m a simple person. Yes, I like comfort, but I’m never ostentatious. So back to, do you have it all? The more you see the world and its problems and challenges and its complexities, the more you realize that you need to do more and you don’t have it all. Because having it all doesn’t mean just your personal comfort, just your material wealth, just your personal glory and accomplishments. Having it all would mean achieving the objectives, surmounting the challenges, not of yourself, of your family, of your community, but of your bigger world. To be able to help more. Then I don’t have it all.”
“When I see the daunting challenges, it drives me, it propels me further. And every day, I’m just inspired to do better. I don’t know if all 64-year-olds think like me. I wake up excited about my day. Even if my long list of things to do is overwhelming, I thank God I wake up with eyes that can see and with taste buds and with food on my table and with water on my tap. Because we see how people even cherish just a timba (pail) of water. We see people don’t have yero (galvanized iron sheets) over their roofs because of typhoons. We see how basic the needs of people are. So I’m ever a grateful person. And I tell everyone, be grateful. And when you’re blessed, even with just basic needs, go out of your comfort zone to help people.”
“My work inspires me —the opportunities for growth, the opportunity to be of help. When you see problems, I don’t look at it as problems. I look at it as potential opportunities for growth,” she points out. Loren no longer aspires for higher office — for the presidency or vice presidency.
“I’m happy where I am, since 1998, as a senator and I’m blessed to be the longest-serving public servant as of now in the Senate, at least, for four terms. I may not be the oldest in terms of age, but the longest serving. Having won two times as number one, and two times, number two, with an overwhelming over 24 million votes— that really carries a big responsibility. I don’t take it for granted.
“I’m always a work in progress. Yes, I have had so many blessings, but when you are blessed, there’s a bigger responsibility and accountability on your shoulders. So that means there’s more work to be done. I’m not one to be laid back and watch the world go by. I seize the moment.”
Loren says even her achievements in school were not easy to come by. She worked for them.
“Ever since I was a child in Assumption Grade School, I was never outstanding from prep. And I seized moments to be able to train, let’s say for elocution, so I could be outstanding in elocution contests. I was not the best drama actor/actress, but I tried to join the drama club so that I could at least be a part of a drama club,” Loren, the only daughter of businessman Tony Legarda and the late Bessie Bautista, recalls.
“And being gifted with, perhaps, the wisdom at this point in time, having been blessed with the influence and the power to a certain extent to effect change, we can’t just watch people dying, getting sick, not having jobs. So, there’s much to do. And that is what inspires me, what propels me, what fuels me.”
When I told her at the beginning of the interview, “You seem to have a perfect life,” she argues, “No life is perfect.”
“I am far from having it all because when I say you have it all, that means everyone in their surroundings in your world would have it all. And you see all the crevices, all the challenges. So, I’m far from having it all because I wish I could have it all. I wish I could do more. I wish I could do much, much more.”
Photography by MARK CHESTER ANG
Art direction by DEXTER FRANCIS DE VERA
Hair and makeup by ERIC MANINGAT
Shot on location at Senate of the Philippines, Pasay City
