120. HTA LEGISLATIONS & EARTH DAY @ 50

HTA LEGISLATIONS & EARTH DAY @ 50

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano
22 April 2020

Twenty-four years ago, on my first month working at the Philippine Senate, under the Office of Senator Heherson T. Alvarez, I joined the team tasked to prepare for the Earth Day 1996 celebrations. The couple-environmentalist Heherson and Cecile Guidote-Alvarez spearheaded the event in coordinated efforts with the City Government of Marikina headed by Mayor (1992-2001) Bayani F. Fernando, now Representative of the 1^st District. Together with foreign environmentalists, we graced the opening ceremony at the Heroes Hall in Malacañang led by President Fidel V. Ramos and the event culminated at the Marikina River Park, now a system of parks, trails, open spaces and recreation facilities along an 11 kilometer stretch of the Marikina River in Marikina City.

From then on, I involved myself in the annual celebrations either joining the National Secretariat or having my own personal or local community activity. For the past 50 years since US Senator Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005) founded this new wave of international environmental activism, the advocacy spread in all continents. The annual event brings people together to promote environmental awareness and demonstrate support for the protection of the environment. In the Philippines, it was only in 1987 when the country started joining the international community in celebrating Earth Day. Senator Heherson T. Alvarez of Isabela province sponsored Senate Resolution No. 20 enjoining every Filipino to celebrate this day by planting trees, clean-up drives, conducting social awareness seminars on how to take care of mother nature, promoting environmental advocacies and other activities which will help safeguard Mother Earth. He later spearheaded year-long activities marking each day of the year as “Earth Day”. On April 10, 2008, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared April 22 as “Philippine Earth Day” by virtue of Proclamation No. 1481 with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as the main convenor of the yearly celebration.

This year's theme for Earth Day is “Climate Action” as it is "the most pressing topic" for the 50^th anniversary of the event, according to the Earth Day Organization. Aside from the small contribution of the Isabela Tourism Office of the Provincial Government of Isabela by doing our home activity to commemorate this special day, I decided to list, write and post the legislative and other environmental-related accomplishments of Mr. Environment, the instigator of Earth Day in the Philippines, who was a COVID19 casualty two days ago. This is also my simple way to honor a great mentor and champion for the environment.

Heherson Turingan Alvarez (1939-2020) or HTA as most of his staff referred him, was the leading voice on the environment in the Philippine Senate in the 8^th, 9^thand 10^th Congress and in the House of Representatives in the 11^th Congress. He was responsible for all major pieces of legislation on environmental protection in the country. These include: Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park Act (RA 9215), Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003), Clean Air Act (RA 8479), National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (RA 7586) and the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan (RA 7611).

Through HTA’s active intercession, the Philippine Senate ratified various international environmental agreements such as: Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, Bonn Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals, UN Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) and the BASEL Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Wastes (1989).

HTA’s comprehensive package of measures in the 11^th Congress addressed the entirety of environmental degradation including: Smoking Ban Act, Clean Water Act, Total Commercial Log Ban Act, Land Use Act, Community-Based Forest Management Act, National Environmental Management Authority Act, Wildlife Resources Conservation Act, Revision of the Environment Code, Biomedical Waste Control Act, New Pollution Control Law, Mangroves Protection and Conservation Act, Creation of Special Environmental Courts, Indigenous Oil and Gas Act, Energy Conservation Act and the Geothermal Act.

HTA had also endeavored to provide focus on environmental concerns in several important legislation: the law that created the Department of Energy (RA 7638) and the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 (RA 8550). Furthermore, Alvarez authored the following laws that helped spur socio-economic and political growth that are integral to a comprehensive program to promote sustainable development:  Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, Department of Energy Law,  Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act, Export Development Act, Expanded Quedan Corporation, Revised Charter of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act, Cooperative Development Authority, Cooperative Code of the Philippines, National Commission on Culture and the Arts Law, Continuing Registration of Voters, Anti-Pilferage Act and the Indigenous People Rights Law.
Moreover, Alvarez’ other important measures were: Omnibus Electric Industry Restructuring Act, Anti-Racketeering-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and the Anti-Trafficking in Filipino Women Act.

In 1993, HTA initiated the signing of the "Healthy Air Pact", an agreement voluntarily entered into by the three major oil companies which paved the way for the reduction of the lead content in gasoline, from 0.6 g/l to 0.15 g/l, the reduction of the sulfur content of diesel, and eventually for the introduction of unleaded gasoline in February 1994. Since then, an estimated 260 tons of lead in the atmosphere have been removed annually, and about P538 million savings on health costs have been realized.

HTA secured the support of President Fidel V. Ramos for contests on Cleanest and Greenest Cities/Municipalities which were adopted by the Department of Local Government and of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (now DepEd) for revival of water bodies, cleaning of markets and school campuses.

As Founding Chairman of the Earthsavers Movement, HTA initiated the DREAMS Academy, a model of environmental education through the arts and media, as its training arm and supported the Earthsavers DREAMS Ensemble, a group of physically-challenged and under- privileged, but talented youth, actively involved in rehabilitation and social integration activities.

In 1996, HTA successfully rallied the entire country in a 40-day vigil, including a signature campaign, to call for a stop to the nuclear testing in the Mururoa atoll in French Polynesia.

HTA convened the GLOBAL YES-Youth Earthsaving Summit and the Global Indigenous Cultural Olympics Summit (GICOS) to forge partnership between youth and indigenous peoples, to reconcile cultural survival with technological advances as a symbolic vision for sustainable development.

HTA initiated the project for regreening and protecting the Cagayan River watershed with participation of Suma Ching Hai International. He also initiated the Laguna Lake Clean Up Project whereby the LLDA, the Local Government Units, the business and the NGO sectors undertook the cooperative activities towards a cleaner and greener Laguna Lake watershed. Through this effort, the Laguna Lake and Mt. Makiling Commission was created for the implementation of a master plan.

HTA authored and published environmental monograms, including various Earthsavers Manuals, a bilingual eco-book, videotape plugs, and audio tapes of songs to support public education in environment. He has also assisted and facilitated the development of a new Soap Opera for Environment with ADB assistance.

HTA had liaised with Philippine Business for Environment and Management Association of the Philippines to promote public acceptance of the "Polluters Pay" principle and appreciation of the systems for environmental and natural resources accounting (ENRA) and environmental impact assessment (EIA).

HTA had affiliations with International Environmental Organizations and Projects and had convened and attended numerous conferences here and abroad which earned for him the Likas Yaman Special Citation (DENR 1989) and the International Public Policy Achievement Award, Climate Institute, Washington, D.C. (1996).

HTA’s achievement during his watch at the DENR (2001-2002) include: provided costal resources protection to one million municipal fisher folks by issuing Department Administrative Order (DAO) 2001-17 delineating municipal waters for small fishermen; instituted reforms accelerating the government's land distribution program for agrarian reform beneficiaries and the urban poor; fixed bills in both houses of Congress seeking to extend the filing and processing of free patent applications for another 10 years; returned to the DENR the task of surveying public lands which had been devolved to local government units; affirmed the key role of the community in forest protection through the issuance of community based forest management agreements (CBFMA); instituted efforts towards the implementation of the Community Livelihood Assistance Program to serve as a center for facilitating access of poor communities to technologies, technical assistance and funding sources; provided credit and livelihood opportunities for upland communities; and launched the "Eco-Build for Humanity" in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity projects which build homes for the poor, with DENR providing free manpower, an environmental component in the housing projects and tree for every house built.

Even before protecting the environment has become the fashionable cause to support, or even before US Vice President (1993-2001) Al Gore first showed his award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and shocked the world, HTA was already fighting the good fight for the environment.

HTA foresaw the back lash of mother nature in different forms like typhoons, surges, flash floods, landslides, fish kills and the like decades before it happened. He prophesized that the effects of climate change was just around the corner and urgent measures should be made as not to be caught off guard. When he was a legislator, he proposed measures which were unpopular especially to unscrupulous individuals and companies but after a decade or two, these laws were used to protect mankind from the wrath of an exploited Mother Earth.

Senators Gaylord Nelson of the United States and Heherson T. Alvarez of the Philippines offered most of their public service life to save our one and only planet. Both now had pass on to the great beyond but their efforts were not put in vain for humanity has been accustomed for the past five decades in celebrating “Earth Day”.