MEDIUM RARE
Jullie Y. Daza
And feet on the ground.
Two women made the news this week and they’re heaven-and-earth apart in their orientations. Dr. Ma. Rosario Vergeire, named to head DOH as officer in charge, who has been a constant presence five, six days a week for the last two years on our screens updating us on the pandemic and how to stay safe. Ma. Antonia (Toni) Yulo-Loyzaga, appointed secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, who will keep us posted on climate and weather, the air and the earth and what’s beneath our feet, and how to defend our corner of the planet.
We “know” Dr. Vergeire by her voice and the slant of her daily messages and reminders. But Secretary Yulo-Loyzaga is a new face, a new name, a specialist who’s been hiding her light under a bushel in a society where the spotlight is confined to shine on the highly visibles in entertainment and politics.
When I read the new secretary’s brief c.v. that accompanied news of her appointment, the first image that sprung to mind was those windmills in Ilocos Norte that segued into paper pinwheels in BBM’s TV ads during the election campaign. That message was portrayed as one of hope -- sunny skies with a gentle wind blowing, a fresh energy allied with the power of technology.
As an advocate of science and research to mitigate the effects of climate change and protect communities from natural disasters, she’s a good fit, a heavensent for DENR. Her experience working with international climate-watching societies and nine years as executive director of the Manila Observatory is invaluable and priceless. She holds a master’s degree in government from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
The Manila Observatory was founded by the Jesuits in 1865; to this day it continues to study air quality, regional climate and extreme events like typhoons, earthquakes, landslides, etc. Located at the Loyola campus of Ateneo de Manila, it owns a Japanese-donated telescope that amateur astronomers and climatologists-to-be will want to visit.
Under Secretary Loyzaga’s watch, could the Manila Planetarium be coaxed to reopen after it was shut down by the pandemic two years ago? It’s always good to keep ourselves grounded by occasionally looking up at the stars.