HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPE-VINE: OUR NEW ABNORMAL
With so much talk in the air about sustainability, about ESG agendas, and gender inclusivity in particular, it’s good to note the number of women in the Cabinet of President BongBong Marcos. This week, with over 27 million children returning to public and private schools, the focus was on our Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, as she’s concurrently our Secretary of Education.
Susan Ople is our secretary of Migrant Workers, while Amenah Pangandaman is secretary of Budget and Management, and Maria Rosario Vergeire the OIC at the Department of Health. Clarita Carlos is our National Security Adviser, Zenaida Angping the secretary of the Presidential Management Staff, and Trixie Cruz-Angeles the press secretary. And there are two more female Cabinet members that I’ve had the fortune to meet, and write about – Sec. Christina G. Frasco, our Secretary of Tourism, and Sec. ‘Toni’ Yulo-Loyzaga, the secretary of Environment and Natural Resources.
When I wrote my feature articles on these two Cabinet secretaries, I had to keep my personal impressions leashed. Here in my column, I have the freedom to mention how impressed I was with the qualifications, conviction, and zeal of these two women, and state that I’m certain they’ll be great assets to the administration. I just hope and pray that politicking, the influence and conflict of vying interests, and administrative inertia, are all factors they can overcome. As it was evident to me that their personal “mission visions” are crystal clear – and it’ll be a matter of turning, over the next six years, their dreams into realities.
They’ve both hit the ground running in their departments. In the case of Tourism Sec. Frasco, she’s been conducting listening talks with the various groups and associations that are intricately involved with Philippine tourism. While she’s stated that she will draw heavily on her experience as a two-term Mayor of Liloan in Cebu, and the wonderful work she did there in transforming the municipality, she’s wary enough to know that not everything can transition onto a national scale, and that listening to the various sectors would be the best first step to understanding better the “lay of the land.”
DOT Sec. Christina G. Frasco with husband, Cong. Duke Frasco.
With DENR Sec. Yulo-Loyzaga, it’s been deep dives with the bureaus, authorities, and attached agencies of the DENR. With her fine work with the Manila Observatory and National Resilience Council as experiences she can draw on, she’s in the process of forming an advisory council, one that will have members drawn from both the academe and practical worlds, to help provide the necessary science, and realistic paths to policy formulation and regulation. At the same time, one primary goal is to create a true science-based base line of our natural resources – so that discussions and decisions made, will be based on a true, objective ‘snapshot’, and through her hoped-for “single lens” approach.
During the hour I spent interviewing Sec. Frasco, I was struck by her grasp of the issues, and how analytical and organized her approach in seeking a solution. She attributes that to her legal training and previous life as a lawyer at the Romulo, Mabanta, Buenaventura, Sayoc, and Delos Angeles law firm, where she practiced commercial litigation and international arbitration. There was a moment during the interview when she suddenly stopped, laughed, and asked if she was talking too much. And of course, the answer was yes, but the truth is I didn’t mind, as like a tough lawyer presenting a case, she wasn’t repeating herself, but was clearly enumerating the reasons why Liloan is such a success story.
Last week, Sec. Frasco joined fellow tourism ministers and heads of delegations at the 11th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Ministerial Meeting, held in Bangkok, Thailand. Among the primary issues taken up was the safe resumption of cross-border travel among APEC nations. She expressed support for the interoperability of vaccine certificates, and liberalizing arrival protocols for short-term travelers and returning residents. The goal in mind is to facilitate seamless travel across destinations and economies; in order to spur economic activity, and people-to-people connectivity.
With Sec. Yulo-Loyzaga I was most impressed by how she lives and breathes resilience and sustainability. Her son Joaquin was present during the interview, and at one point, mentioned that there was a time when even dinner conversations at home would center on climate risk, disaster preparedness, and sustainability. Joking, he said they had to institute a ban on those topics being spoken about at home. And I loved the look in Sec. Toni’s eyes as she was taking the ribbing from her “unico hijo” – Joaquin has two sisters.
DENR Sec. Toni Yulo-Loyzaga with her son, Joaquin.
What Sec. Toni also brings to the table, is an uncanny penchant for putting the private sector, the public sector, and the scientific community together, and hammering out decisions that all three can agree to. This will come especially handy as she takes on the thorny issues that surround the DENR. That it comes at a very crucial time cannot be underestimated. Fast-tracking national recovery will involve several sectors that are under the purview of the DENR, and she’ll have to balance the utilization and development of our natural resources, while maintaining the three “R’s” mantra of rehabilitation, restoration, and regeneration.
While I’m one with the populace in hoping President Marcos will be adept at bringing about this hoped-for recovery, having met these two fine women, I’m also confident he’s chosen wisely for these two departments.