Jockeying starts for DENR post; new names emerge
Jockeying for the position of environment secretary has started, just days after the Commission on Appointments rejected President Duterte’s appointment of Gina Lopez as environment chief.
The President is reportedly scouting for possible replacements in several positions in the Cabinet, including the post vacated by Lopez.
While Lopez said she wants Duterte to head the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, other names have surfaced as potential DENR chief.
Ramon Edison Batacan, a managing partner of the Davao-based Batacan Montejo Vicencio (BMV Law Firm), is reportedly among those that Duterte is considering to be the next environment secretary. The President personally knows Batacan.
Batacan is among the respected law luminaries in Davao City. He successfully prosecuted the dismantling of ball mills operating in the capital town of Tagum City, Davao del Norte which were found to be the source of mercury poisoning affecting school children in the area.
He drafted the Water Code of Davao City, which is still in effect. He was a former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Davao City chapter and later became a governor of IBP-Mindanao.
Batacan graduated cum laude from the Ateneo de Davao University in 1990 and passed the Bar in 1991. He has been an environmental and natural resources law professor at his alma mater for the past 25 years.
He also holds a master of law degree from San Beda College and a master of business administration degree from the University of Southeastern Philippines, where he also teaches property law, intellectual property law and mercantile law.
It was reported earlier that officials of Duterte’s party, PDP-Laban, his fraternity Lex Talionis Fraternitas and other allied groups have endorsed Mark Tolentino, a young lawyer from Mindanao.
Tolentino, 37, is an alumnus of the San Beda Law School, where Duterte also took up law, and is a member of Lex Talionis. He was the sole candidate of PDP-Laban in Caraga region where he ran for mayor of Cabadbaran City in the May 2016 elections.
The mining industry has also been vocal on its suggestion to have current Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Mario Luis Jacinto head the DENR.
Priest: Gina, run for president
Meanwhile, this early some Catholic priests are toying with the idea of Lopez running for president in 2022.
Fr. Edu Gariguez, executive secretary of the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said while the next presidential election is still five years away, he is already thinking of having Lopez run for president.
“This is just my personal opinion and not the opinion of the Church. But we, along with other environment advocates, have been talking about this, although not yet formally… This is just a wild idea. If she is not accepted as DENR secretary, I would like to tell Gina Lopez to run for president in year 2022,” Gariguez said.
He said that Lopez showed strong principles when she went against big mining companies that destroyed the environment and affected the livelihood and health of poor, farming communities.
He also said that compared to possible presidential contenders in 2022 – including the dictator’s son and namesake Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and boxing icon Sen. Manny Pacquiao, an ally of Duterte – Lopez is more deserving to become the country’s next leader.
“We need this kind of leader, someone who has the heart for the poor and someone who has determination, a vision for change. We need the kind of leader where justice and common good are prioritized in the framework for development,” he added.
When asked if he believes Lopez is capable of handling the country’s other problems, Gariguez said: “An important qualification of a president is leadership. You don’t have to know everything. You have your Cabinet to help you.”
The priest also said that while Lopez is from a very rich family, she possesses the elements that could help her win the presidential election: mass appeal, heart for the poor and the machinery and capability to launch a full campaign.
Gariguez said he brought up his “wild idea” to CBCP Commission on Laity chairman Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who replied
“Pwede (possible).”
Ateneo de Davao University president Fr. Joel Tabora has also expressed support for Lopez.
“I will support you… Even the priests who are also volunteers in the anti-mining campaign, they are excited, so this is not just me,” he said.
Meanwhile, now that Lopez is out of the DENR, suspended gold mining firm Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. (LCMC) heaved a sigh of relief.
“Now, we can focus on aggressively developing our copper mine and quartz pyrite gold mine, referred to now as LCMC’s copper-gold project,” LCMC president Bryan Yap said during the signing of a collective bargaining agreement between the company and its staff union at the Baguio Country Club yesterday.
LCMC is one of the mining firms that Lopez suspended for operations allegedly destructive to the environment.