Loren Legarda-Leviste has been hailed as an 'ecological warrior' because of her staunch advocacy of environmental issues, particularly those pertaining to forest and marine resources. As a broadcast journalist for 20 years, she championed the cause for a more healthier ecology by heightening public awareness of environmental problems through her weekly television programmes "Pep Talk" and "The Inside Story". Her subsequent news magazine programme "EarthLink" became the first television documentary series on the environment and was awarded both the prestigious KBP Golden Dove Award and the EarthSavers Media Award.
As the youngest member of the Philippine Senate, she has filed more than 103 bills and 68 resolutions, including the Clean Air Act of 1998 (enacted as Republic Act 8749), the Solid Waste Management Policy Framework, Total Commercial Log Ban of 1998, and the Greening Act of 1998.
Legarda-Leviste is Chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs and Tourism, and Vice-chair of the committees on environment and natural resources and public information and mass media. She sits on the powerful Commission on Appointments and chairs its Environment Committee. She also spearheads a laudable environmental project, entitled 'Greening the Philippines', that seeks to create 1,600 forest parks in urban areas nationwide in order to raise the level of consciousness of Filipinos to the value of trees. She was elected a Global Leader of Tomorrow for the year 2000 by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Likas Yaman (National Treasure) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for her work as founding Chair of the Save Our Seas, and the Trees for Life Foundations.
Updated By: Mary Ann Maybaum
Last Updated: 10/22/2003 10:58:00 PM |
