Gina Lopez accepts DENR post

Environment advocate Gina Lopez has accepted the post of secretary of Department on Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) under the administration of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.

"In the end, this morning, I kind of feel that it's an opportunity to make something good happen to this country. I think authority, if it is used well, can make a lot of difference," Lopez said in a television interview on Tuesday.

Duterte offered her the post during her courtesy call at the president-elect's temporary office in Davao City.

A confessed opponent mining, Lopez  explained at length why she was against the business, pointing out that it brought suffering to poor people and destroyed the environment.

Lopez also welcomed the news that mining shares "crashed" after Duterte offered her the DENR post.

"That’s good because they are making money out of the suffering of the people. You don’t want to build an economy based on the suffering of the people. That’s what mining does. It puts our fishermen and farmers at risk and I’ve seen it. I know it. And I’ve been there. Is that the kind of economy that you want to build? It’s just not right," she said.

Lopez also pointed out that mining contributed to climate change, and that the Philippines was considered to be one of the most vulnerable to it.

"While China has closed all their coal plants--well about a hundred--and America closed all of theirs, we come up with 118 permits? I mean, what's that all about?" she said.

The incoming DENR chief also said that she has already informed her family including her brother Gabby Lopez, chairman of ABS-CBN Corporation, about her decision.

“I think we need to get you security,” she quoted her brother while letting out a laugh. —Trisha Macas/NB, GMA News