Gina Lopez

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Gina Lopez (Regina Paz La'o Lopez) was a Filipino environmentalist and philanthropist. She was born on December 27, 1953, in Manila and died on August 19, 2019, in Makati, due to brain cancer.

She served as Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in an ad interim capacity under President Rodrigo Duterte from June 30, 2016, to May 3, 2017. Earlier, she was the chairperson of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission from August 23, 2010, to August 19, 2019, leading efforts to clean and restore the Pasig River and surrounding areas.

Gina came from the Lopez family, the daughter of Eugenio Lopez Jr. and Conchita La’o. She studied at Assumption College and Boston College, and earned a master’s in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management. She did not complete a four-year degree but pursued a long career in social and environmental work.

For 20 years, she was a yoga missionary, living in Portugal, India and Africa, teaching yoga and helping children in the slums. Upon returning to the Philippines, she led corporate social responsibility programs and became the managing director of the ABS-CBN Foundation. She helped launch Bantay Bata 163, a child hotline that won international awards, and Bantay Kalikasan, an environmental program.

As Pasig River chair, she oversaw major river restoration and reforestation projects, including the La Mesa Watershed. She advocated for 100% renewable energy, opposed mining and fossil fuels, and pushed to protect Palawan from mining. She created forums to include Indigenous Peoples in DENR decisions and launched a public environmental hotline.

In 2017, her appointment to DENR was rejected by the Commission on Appointments. She remained an influential voice on environmental issues, hosting the show G Diaries and receiving international recognition, including the Seacology Prize in 2017 for protecting island environments.

Gina Lopez died in 2019 from brain cancer at age 65. In 2020, the ABS-CBN Foundation Building was renamed Gina Lopez Building in her honor. She was portrayed by Paula Peralejo in the 1995 film Eskapo.