KEYNOTE SPEAKERMR. LITO ATIENZA |
PERSONAL BACKGROUND Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Lito Atienza has long been a defender of the environment. This has been manifested in his crucial endeavors as a public servant – from the time he served as Assemblyman (1984-1986) representing the capital city at the Batasang Pambansa (Philippine Congress), as National Housing Authority General Manager (1986-1987), until the time he was elected into office as Vice-Mayor (1992-1998) and Presiding Officer of the City of Manila, and later as its Mayor – the only one in its history to be elected for 3 consecutive terms (1998-2007). His administration could be best described as phase of urban renewal for the Philippine capital.
With Honorary Degrees in Urban Planning and Public Administration, he is a champion of effective land use planning who has implemented programs that made Manila the microcosm of sustainable development among urban areas in the Philippines – programs borne of sheer political will for the benefit of present and future generations. As Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, he brought with him his vision, his convictions, his courage, his management skills, his perspective as a local executive and his passion to do more; as well as the balanced perspective of someone who views people as the key partner in the preservation of a healthy environment and in the development of its God-given resources. |