The appointment of Gina Lopez as the DENR Secretary has been rejected.
GINA LOPEZ – The panel of the Commission on Appointments on Wednesday has rejected the appointment of Gina Lopez as the secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Based on a recent report in ABS-CBN News, only nine members supported the confirmation of Lopez as the DENR Secretary.
Those who supported the confirmation of Lopez as the DENR secretary were Representative Sandy Ocampo and Sens. Vicente Sotto, Ralph Recto, Manny Pacquiao, Loren Legarda, JV Ejercito, Bam Aquino, Franklin Drilon, and Francis Pangilinan.
On the other side, based on the news report, four senators and 11 members of the House of Representatives did not vote for the confirmation of Lopez as DENR secretary.
Here is the list of the four senators and the 11 representatives.
- Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri
- Sen. Gregorio Honasan
- Sen. Panfilo Lacson
- Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano
- Rep. Jerry Treñas
- Rep. Rodolfo Albano III
- Rep. Josephine Sato
- Rep. Julieta Cortuna
- Rep. Antonio Floirendo
- Rep. Abraham Tolentino
- Rep. Benhur Salimbangon
- Rep. Roy Loyola
- Rep. Joel Mayo Almario
- Rep. Ronaldo Zamora
- Rep. Wes Gatchalian
Based on a previous news report, Sen. JV Ejercito supported the appointment of Gina Lopez as the secretary of DENR as he saw Lopez’s courage in taking the mining law into action despite the fact that she will have to face the giant companies in the field of mining.
Lopez was previously reappointed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Five mining companies faced suspension under Gina Lopez and 23 mines were closed.
According to the news report, Lopez’s mining law encountered criticisms and oppositions.
Lopez is not the first person whose appointment has been rejected by the CA. Based on the news report, former ad interim Foreign Affairs secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr.’s appointment was also previously rejected due to his citizenship issue.