Senator Loren Legarda has called on the private sector to play their crucial role in environmental protection, citing their significant impact on the ecosystem.
Legarda raised the call during the culminating program of the 2024 Philippine Environmental Month last June 29 at the National Museum of Natural History in Manila.
“We call on the sector here with the greatest potential for both harm and positive change — the private sector,” said Legarda, rallying Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) partner-stakeholders of their pivotal role in environmental protection.
“You can be the guiding force in our economy, embracing natural capital accounting, and adopting business practices that enhance rather than exploit natural ecosystems,” she added.
“The academe will provide the strategic insights needed for success, while the role of the government remains crucial,” she further assured.
She said partnerships among all sectors, private and public, are flexible and focused, amplifying impact, and encourages knowledge-sharing and testing.
“When partnerships succeed, whether through the removal of species from the threatened species list, the rehabilitation of hectares of land, or schools adopting zero waste and edible schoolyards, we should celebrate these achievements,” she said.
Legarda, an environmental and climate change advocate, has long pushed for environmental laws since first being elected into office in 1998.
She was instrumental in the passage into law of many landmark pieces of environmental legislation such as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, the Expanded NIPAS of 2018, and the Climate Change Act of 2009.
Legarda was also the principal author and sponsor of the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act.
The PENCAS Act is crucial for the inclusion of the value of finite natural resources into the national accounting system, contributing to more informed environmental management decisions.