Ma’am Gina

Yesterday we lost a warrior. Not just any other warrior, an eco-warrior. Regina Paz "Gina" Lopez was one of the blessed Lopezes endowed with wealth from a multi-billion company that their parents built. Despite the money, she didn't want any of it, she thought there was more to life than having a silver spoon in her mouth. She went to different places as a missionary and came back to the country with the sense of purpose in her heart. Thus starting the foundation of ABS-CBN.

Ma'am Gina, as most of the employees call her was instrumental to most of the many things that we can use today --the Bantay Bata 163 hotline, the education TV shows that every ‘90s kid grew up with (from which I learned a lot, by the way) and the rehabilitation of the La Mesa Watershed. There's many more to say during her active years, before accepting the task of becoming the environment secretary.

I only met her a couple of times during her visit to Cebu but those moments were priceless. She would often remind us to keep helping out, reaching out to others. But one time she made an impact on me was when she introduced me to essential oils. She gathered all the reporters in a room, and poured drops of the peppermint oil onto our palms then, with her cue, calming music played. The lecture of the proper use and benefits of the oils came after. That moment opened me to the world of meditation and my all-time favorite, yoga. Her work has also inspired me to continue my advocacy for the environment, to be an eco-warrior in my own little ways.

Now that she has passed, she will be remembered for the legacy that she has left to the country. Her short stint as the environment secretary has opened our eyes to the reality of the world that business will always influence the decision of the government.

We saw how the legislators protected the interests of those running the mining industry instead of taking care of our environment. It was she who said that it is our responsibility to look after the Earth, and she was never wrong.

She will be deeply missed. Her quirky and hyperactive personality that infects even the most phlegmatic individual will never be forgotten. How she fought her way through the environment department winning the hearts of the public with her iron fist when it came to enforcing environmental laws.

There will not be another Ma'am Gina anymore, but we can always emulate her ways. We can keep to heart her passion and fire for making sure that the next generation will still have a place to stay in. Cancer may have taken her but it will not take what she has left all of us.

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To those who plan to send her condolences, flowers, and mass cards, the ABS-CBN foundation would prefer that you donate instead in memory of the institution she built. Thank you.