Loren Legarda, Filipino broadcast journalist, environmentalist, and politician, is one of the candidates for the upcoming 2013 senatorial elections. She has previously run and won two senatorial elections, 1998 and 2007, where she emerged as the only female to top the polls.
During the 2004 Philippine general election, she ran for the position of Vice-President as an Independent withFernando Poe, Jr. as running mate and again during the 2010 Philippine presidential election.
During her first six years in the Senate, Lorean Legarda authored legislation benefiting women’s and children’s rights such as the Anti-Domestic Violence Act, Anti-Child Labor law, Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, Ecological Solid Waste Management Law, Tropical Fabric Law, and during her second term, she has authored the Expanded Senior Citizens Law, Climate Change Law, Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Act, Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act, and Revised Agri-Agra Law.
Lorean Legarda is a notable advocate of Climate Change Awareness and has numerous achievements in the fields of social development and human rights advocacy. She was a member of the Philippine delegation during the 2009 Copenhagen Summit.
She began a career as a journalist; she was a reporter for RPN-9 who later moved to ABS-CBN. Loren Legarda was the anchor of the television newscast, The World Tonight and during this period, she received more than thirty major awards, including the Catholic Mass Media Hall of Fame, KBP Golden Dove Award, the Gawad CCP, and the Ten Outstanding Young Men and Women award.
Loren Legarda attended Assumption College from primary to high school and got her degree in the University of the Philippines where graduated a cum laude. Loren Legarda obtained a master’s degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines, graduating at the top of the class with gold medals for Academic Excellence and Best Thesis
Loren Legarda is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the Philippine Air Force Reserve Corps. The Maranao Sultanate League of the Moro people bestowed the honorary title of “Bai Alabi” (“Princess”) on her.
Platforms/Advocacy of Loren Legarda
Since she became a legislator in 1998, Loren co-authored various laws and established programs in support of her advocacies under the acronym L.O.R.E.N.
Law, Order & Good Governance
To provide a more secure environment for our people, Loren co-authored the following laws: the Anti Money Laundering Law (RA 9160), National Service Training Program (RA 9163), Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act (RA 9165), and the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), among others.
Likewise, Loren Legarda championed the rights and welfare of Overseas Filipinos. Believing in our modern-day heroes, Loren pushed for the passage of the Overseas Absentee Voting Act (RA 9189), the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act (RA 9225) and the law providing for additional benefits and privileges to balikbayans (RA 9174).
Rights of Women, Youth and Children
Committed to serve the most vulnerable members of the society, Loren Legarda works hard to protect the rights and promote the welfare of women, youth, and children, including victims of sexual coercion during the Second World War, commonly known as “comfort women”. Her dedication to this cause enabled her to develop leadership with a heart, leadership with passion and determination, with subtlety and firmness, drawing her concerns from her being a woman and a mother.
As such, she co-authored the Anti-Domestic Violence Act (RA 9262), Anti-Abuse of Women in Intimate Relationships Act (RA 9262), the Magna Carta for the Working Children (RA 9231) and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, which was passed into law as RA 9208.
Education
Loren Legarda believes that literacy is a fundamental human right. As such, she acknowledges the urgent need for a collaborative effort between government and non-government organizations involved in literacy promotion. While accessibility to education and literacy are basic problems inherent to every society, the Philippines is also in need of good quality education. Despite the existence of laws and programs aimed to improve the education system, much still needs to be done to see the effects at the grassroots level.
Loren co-authored the following measures that were enacted into law: the Early Childhood Care and Development (RA 9890), Negros State College of Agriculture (RA 9141), National Apiculture Research, Training and Development Institute (RA 9151), Leyte State University (RA 9158), and the Cebu International School (RA 9190).
Environment, Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction
A passionate environmentalist, Loren started her campaign for environmental protection and preservation in the 1980s when she became broadcast journalist.
During her incumbency as Senator, she actively espoused for the passage of important environmental measures such as the Philippine Clean Air Act (RA 8749) and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003).
Apart from this, she also espoused the clean up of toxic wastes left behind by former United States military bases in Subic and Clark, and has helped provide medical assistance to children who were victims of toxic waste contamination.
Among her co-authored laws on environmental protection are: Mt. Kitanglad Range Protected Area (RA 8978), Batanes Group of Islands Protected Area (Ra 8991), and the Conservation and Protection of Wildlife Resources Act (RA 9147).
In 2009, she espoused for the passage of the Climate Change Law, a landmark legislation that is considered as a model for other nations.
As current Chairwoman of the Climate Change Oversight Committee of the Senate, Loren ensures that climate change, including adaptation and disaster risk reduction, is addressed as a national priority and considered in policy making and development planning.
Employment & Entrepreneurship
Loren Legarda recognizes the constitutional mandate that labor is a primary social and economic force; and that the rights of workers must be protected and their welfare be promoted.
One of the first laws that she co-authored was the establishment of the Public Employment Service Office (RA 8759) in all capital towns, key cities and other strategic areas nationwide.
In the 14th Congress, Loren as Chair of the Economic Affairs Committee sponsored the amendments to the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (RA 9501) to generate employment and economic activities and essentially spur growth in the countryside.
Nationalism
Loren Legarda believes that nationalism should be nurtured by the unity of intention and oneness of motive for our country be great again.
Therefore, all efforts towards national reconciliation and healing must be pursued, particularly through legislation that seeks to recognize the richness of culture, the uniqueness of our diversity as a people, and those Filipinos who have labored to preserve our culture through the history of forebears. In line with this, she co-authored the declaration of Eid´l Fitr as a national holiday (RA 9177) and likewise co-sponsored the declaration of June 30 of every year as the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day (RA 9187).