Atienza not fit to head DENR
I would like to add my voice of dismay to those of the millions of environmentalists in this country on the appointment of former Manila mayor Lito Atienza as secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). This appointment is obviously a political accommodation for yet another of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s loyal-but-now-unemployed supporters. And it is unfortunate that the DENR should be made to serve as a “catch-basin” for this kind of job-seekers. The DENR is not a minor and negligible agency.Valid and credible qualifications, not to mention a solid track record in environmental protection, have been completely disregarded in this appointment. Atienza hardly has the track record in caring for and protecting the environment when he had the office and the power to do so. If he did not care for Manila’s parks, could he be trusted to oversee the country’s natural resources?
We urge this government to treat the environment with utmost respect by appointing only qualified people to oversee the DENR.
MA. LUISA R. DE LEON-BOLINAO, Ph.D., associate professor 3, History Department, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City
