Our pride in being Filipinos begins with our awareness of the beauty of our own homeland —the country and its people.
Regina “Gina” Paz Lopez, Managing Director of ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI), has taken on this mission—to instill pride in Filipinos for their heritage and their homeland by creating a better Philippines. This mission has motivated Gina to take on one gargantuan task after another—in the service of the Filipino.
Through AFI’s projects such as Bantay Bata and Bantay Kalikasan, Gina has been successful in generating support from various sectors. Bantay Bata, for the past ten years, has been instrumental in helping abused children, while Bantay Kalikasan has been successful in the past years in environmental projects like rehabilitating the La Mesa Watershed.
Because of her successful projects, Gina was asked by the Philippine government to take on the seemingly impossible task of cleaning up the Pasig River in 2008.
In an exclusive interview with the Asian Journal during her current visit to California to get the Fil-Am community’s support for AFI’s projects, Gina explained, “Ming Ramos called me and asked if I would be willing to take over the rehabilitation of the Pasig River project. I said yes, on the condition that we partner with the DENR. Immediately, she said yes.”
The Pasig River, which traverses major cities in Metro Manila, is considered as the “lifeline of our nation.” For years, various unsuccessful attempts have been carried out to rehabilitate or revive this “dead river.”
Elizabeth Mandap, one of the countless Filipinos who live in the communities along the Pasig River, was one of the skeptics who think rehabilitating the River is an impossible task. Since she was a child, she has heard of projects to clean up the Pasig River but have seen them fail. Now a grandmother, Mandap didn’t believe it could be done.
But she didn’t count on the passion and commitment of Gina Lopez who never starts a project without seeing it through.
At a grand media launch in Manila, Gina led a multi-sector group to launch Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig—a massive clean-up and rehabilitation campaign to rescue the ailing Pasig River. The project is led by the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“Like in the human body, if arteries are clogged, the whole body cannot function well. The Pasig River, which has 46 esteros or creeks that cross its path, has been clogged with basura, cement, and sewage. We cannot unclog all the esteros right away, so we decided to start with some creeks first,” Gina explained to Asian Journal.
During the launching of the KBIP, Gina explained that the project will take seven years to complete and will involve the support of not only the private sector and local government units but also the media as well. “No matter how much money you spend to clean the river, the river is still going to be dirty. We have to change the way we look at the river. We should use the media to awaken the consciousness and the reverence that people should have for the Pasig River,” Gina said.
“We relocated the squatters residing on the easements of tributaries, dredged the esteros of debris and garbage, planted lots of green plants along the river’s sides, and trained the residents to become River Warriors to maintain cleanliness,” shared Gina.
After less than 2 years, Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig has more than a lot to show for its work than all the other past projects for the river. Several esteros have been cleaned and transformed into unclogged creeks with green plants and flora growing along its sides. The Estero de Paco which is at the back of the Paco Market is one such transformation showcase, as well as the Esteros de San Miguel behind Malacanang Palace.
How was she able to do it? “I guess it helped a lot that I come from Media and I have no political agenda. I am neutral and the project did not involve any political personality. But of course, we couldn’t have done what we did without the avid support the foundation gets from our donors and partners, those who share the same passion,” said Gina. “ It’s a genuine display of bayanihan, with public servants and the private sector working together for one noble cause—bringing back life to a river intimately connected to our history, culture and origin as a people.”
In a column published in the Philippine Star several months ago, Gina shared, “what we have achieved as a confluence of effort, in a span of just almost two years, is truly remarkable. All we needed to do was look back and remind ourselves of what we’ve lost. We didn’t just forget the river, we also forgot to believe in ourselves, that together, the Filipino people can work miracles. Where once there was hopelessness, together we gave back hope. Where once there was despair, together we dreamed again. A river that once was dead, together we dare bring it back to life once more. The story behind the cleaning of the Pasig River is more than just physically cleaning the river.
When 1,216 families were moved from Estero de Paco to Calauan, Laguna—under the care of BayaniJuan—people didn’t just change their address, they also got a fresh and promising start. When 3,200 cubic meters of trash were being taken out of the estero, the creek wasn’t just cleared up, bridges were also paved between the rich and the poor who both willingly jumped in the dirty creek to clean. When the estero was being dredged, sewered and landscaped, agencies didn’t just lend their trucks and heavy equipment, an entire team was formed—one that we seldom see—merging both the government and the private sector harmoniously.”
As if cleaning up the Pasig River was not enough work, Gina has also embraced another project-enhancing and conserving the ecotourism sites of Palawan. Under AFI’s Bantay Kalikasan, Gina has been actively working to protect Palawan’s biodiversity from excessive rates of extinction.
“Palawan is the best region in the Philippines for ecotourism, because it still has so much natural treasures to offer. So, we started to help develop and maintain the natural resources and help the poor inhabitants get out from their poverty through ecotourism,” Gina shared.
After three years, Bantay Kalikasan has managed to get several communities in Palawan out of poverty and into prosperity.
Believing that no problem is unsolvable, Gina is not one to be daunted by any task. When she took on the cudgels of cleaning up the Pasig River, she said, “The problem is huge, but it can be solved. With everyone’s help, we can accomplish this…We are giving ourselves seven years to clean the river. We will make dreams come true.”
Making dreams come true for the Filipino people is Gina’s passion. “I get a kick out of helping people,” she said. In this mission, she enjoins Filipinos everywhere.
To Fil-Ams, Gina has this invitation: “Come back to your country. It is so beautiful. Help us make a better Philippines for our children.”
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek Aug 10-12, 2011 MDWK pg.2)
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