The death of environment warrior Gina Lopez has elicited praise and admiration for her passion in her fight to protect Mother Nature. Even Congressional personalities, both Senators and Representatives, sing to the high heavens about her stint as Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary, when she held big business by the balls, enforcing laws, policies, rules and regulations that would have meant the closure of erring, and there were many, mining and logging companies. Few , if any, among the lawmakers mentioned how the Commission of Appointments, which they manned dealt the death blow to her short, but spectacular, stint in public office.

If she had not been infirm, she could have run for senator in the recently concluded midterm elections and may have won and taken her seat in the Senate as a nationally elected official whose stay in office would not be subject to the whims of an appointing power or the Commission on Appointments. Then 2022 could have propelled  her to higher office or the next President could appoint her back the the DENR (again to face the Commission of Appointments).

Alas, fate had to intervene to snuff the life of a dedicated and effective former Secretary when there are hundreds of corrupt officials who should have departed the world in her place.

So it is business as usual for the companies that denude our forests, flatten our mountains and poison our air and water. The drive for corporate profit continues at the expense of our future but there would no longer be a Gina Lopez to speak for us so we might as well get used to the idea that we have to fend off for ourselves.