As Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, she said the fire that affected 10 hectares of forest land, is man-made and the culprits must be condemned and punished for their irresponsible acts. “This is a gruesome crime against nature, the species that live in the area, and the resources that we are tasked to conserve.”
Her committee is now working on proposed measures, including the National Land Use Act, the Final Forest Limits Act, and the Protected Areas Declaration Act, that will put into place tougher safeguards to protect our environment.
On April 22, she’s also launching a series of environmental awareness docus about protected environment. The first one will be about protected marine life with beautiful footage provided by underwater videographer Bobbit Suntay which will show the beauty of the Verde Island passage in Mindoro.
“I saw his work online and we had a meeting,” she says. “He believes in my advocacy and agreed to have Cannes Filmfest awardee Dante Mendoza turn it into a documentary. This will be launched at the National Museum. When people become more aware of our protected areas, hindi nila ito wawasakin gaya ng pagsunog sa Banahaw.”
Aside from this series of environmental docus, she will also produce a full length feature film to be helmed by Mendoza. She won’t reveal yet the details of the project. “We’re casting it now. May naisip na kaming magandang title. It’ll be about Typhoon Yolanda. Balak ni Direk Brilliante, isali ito sa Cannes Filmfest.”
She has turned part of their ancestral home into a museum housing various memorabilia of her work as a broadcaster and as a lawmaker. It shows her fotos with international figures like Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, Hillary Clinton, Prince Charles, Pres. George Bush, the late Nelson Mandela and many more. She treasures a letter from FPJ thanking her for agreeing to run as his vice president. We all know that they won but Gloria and Garci cheated them. Will she again aspire for a higher position later?
“No. My term as senator is until 2019. After that, I want to study, either at the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard or at a college in Scotland where they offer Masters of Law in Climate Change.”
In their Malabon home, their next door neighbor is well known movie producer-director Larry Santiago. “His wife, Mennen, was my teacher in piano,” says Sen. Loren. “I have beautiful memories of this place where I spent the first 27 years of my life.”
How are her two sons? “Lanz is in London while Lean is in Yale, kaya mag-isa lang ako rito.”
Any new romance? “Wala. I’m happily single.”
