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AN ENVIRONMENTALIST REWARDED
FIRST CRACK by Fel V. Maragay
Manila Standard TODAY
November 17, 2007
LONG before Filipinos took notice of global warming and became almost paranoid over this abnormal phenomenon, an environmental crusader, then Senator Heherson Alvarez, was already warning his countrymen about the harm that it would bring to mankind. Perhaps it was from Alvarez that we first heard of the term ozone layer, which serves as the earth’s natural cover in the skies and absorbs most of the sun’s ultra-violet radiation. As chairman of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, Alvarez expressed alarm over the continuing depletion of the ozone layer because of the uncontrolled and indiscriminate burning of fossil fuel and destruction of the forests.
In February 1995, Alvarez convened the First Asia-Pacific Leaders Conference on Climate Change in Manila under the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Program. Twenty-nine nations participated in this forum.
For his exemplary feats as environmentalist, public servant (two-term senator, one-term congressman, secretary of agrarian reform and of environment) and politician, Alvarez has been chosen one of this year’s 16 Gusi Peace Prize awardees.
A prominent freedom fighter during the Marcos dictatorial rule and favorite son of Isabela, Alvarez is one of three Filipinos who will be honored as 2007 Gusi Peace Laureates. The recognition is Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Sharing the prestigious award with Alvarez are lawyer Persida de Rueda Acosta, chief of the Public Attorney’s Office of the Department of Justice and Concepcion de Guzman, chairman of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission.
The awarding rites will be held at the Meralco Theater, Pasig City on Nov. 21. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will be guest of honor and speaker.
Alvarez is cited for his visionary leadership, commitment in protecting the environment and his persistent, courageous struggle to restore Philippine democracy, modernize the economy and advance social justice.
“He drew the line many times for noble causes, risking life, honor and family. He never compromised in the struggle for freedom and good governance and in upholding the underclass over vested interests. He is an exceptional leader in times of both danger and peace,” according to the citation given by the Gusi Peace Prize Foundation.
As a senator, Alvarez played the lead role in the enactment of the law mandating the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program which enabled millions of marginalized tenant-farmers to own the agricultural lands that they were tilling. This revolutionary landmark legislation required that all ill-gotten wealth recovered from the Marcoses and their cronies should be used to compensate landowners whose lands would be taken over by the government for distribution to farmers.
As a legislator, he was sometimes misunderstood for advocating policies and programs that he believed were right and good for the nation. For instance, he was severely flayed by detractors and rival politicians for pursuing the sustainable development approach to utilizing forest resources. This was simply called selective logging, in contrast to the total logging ban being pushed by other lawmakers. He never wavered or abandoned his stand which was based on the studies of forestry experts. His idea called for allowing the cutting of trees in industrial tree plantations and other areas where wood producers have replanted the trees. But logging would be strictly prohibited in virgin forests, watershed areas, wildlife sanctuaries and natural parks. True enough, this is the policy still being enforced by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which somehow vindicates Alvarez for what he had fought for. If the forests in many provinces continue to be denuded, it’s because of failure of the DENR and other law enforcement agencies to stop illegal logging and indiscriminate grant of logging permits even in protected forests.
As environment secretary, Alvarez fought powerful vested interests behind illegal logging, mining, quarrying, fishing. He refused to yield to the demand of big-time fishing groups to revoke his order banning commercial fishing in municipal waters within a 15-kilometer radius from the seashore, in accordance with the Fisheries Code. Because of his intractable stand on this issue, his confirmation at the Commission on Appointments was blocked by congressmen who were either protectors of these fishing groups or engaged in the fishing business themselves.
In his biggest battle as environmental czar, he rejected the renewal of the permit of the country’s biggest forest concession due to failure to reforests, delinquent payment of government fees and lack of consent of the indigenous communities to the company’s logging operations. Despite heavy political pressures, he stood his ground. And this cost him his Cabinet job. A few years, later he was again vindicated when the Supreme Court upheld his monumental decision and ordered the erring firm to comply with its obligations and requirements.
Shortly before stepping down as DENR chief in late 2002, Alvarez drew up a plan to put sanity to the exploitation of the mineral-rich Mt. Diwalwal in Compostela Valley. This yields about P5 billion of gold a year. This became the basis for Presidential Proclamation 296 Declaring Mt. Diwalwal a mineral reservation. Alvarez organized cooperatives that included indigenous tribal folk and an 85-15 percent sharing scheme from mining revenues in favor of small miners. This paved the way for ending violence, solved the pollution problem, ensured the collection of taxes by the government and established the ancestral claims of the minorities, as well as the rights of small miners.
President Arroyo praised the Alvarez’s plan for Diwalwal a “crowning glory of service as environment secretary” while Compostela Valley Rep. Manuel Zamora lauded his efforts “to democratize wealth, create a middle class, and mitigate the harm done to the environment.”
In what looked like an honest effort to make up for the injustice done to Alvarez over his unceremonious removal from the department, the President last July named him chairman and chief executive of the Philippine Mining Development Corp. with Cabinet rank.
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